


Our Eternity Together

by ETNMystic



Series: Our Eternity Together [1]
Category: Creepypasta - Fandom, Escape the Night (Web Series), Le Fantôme de l'Opéra | Phantom of the Opera & Related Fandoms, Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Betrayal, Death, Gen, Hypnosis, Innocence, Kinda, Magic, Meta, Possession, Real life sucks sometimes, Sacrifice, Self-Harm, THIS IS GETTING OUT OF CONTROL, Tokens, can you blame me?, etnmystic - Freeform, i'm living vicariously through the protagonist, running away from my responsibilities, there is a traitor amongst the writers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-28
Updated: 2019-04-20
Packaged: 2019-09-01 16:11:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 90
Words: 88,362
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16768489
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ETNMystic/pseuds/ETNMystic
Summary: Faced with danger, obsessed stalker villains, and drama at every corner, Mystic tries to locate the seven tokens of Everlock in the hope of destroying the Cursed God once and for all.Also it took me about five months to get to writing a summary. That's kinda sad.





	1. Frustration

Mystic was tired.

She had finally presented her Dramaturgy presentation, she had her second day of rehearsal for "Macbeth," and she'd still been going through roommate drama. Her life was certainly not easy, and she felt like hope was out of reach.

"I just.....I just want to be as charismatic and beautiful and talented as my best friend."

Mystic knew her best friend cared about her, but it was difficult for Mystic because her best friend seemed to always be one step ahead in terms of......just about everything, it seemed. She was not only tired physically, but also mentally and emotionally. 

_**I can help you, you know that.** _

Mystic merely sighed. She was used to him by now. It was her that had let him gain access to the other writers' mind. 

_**You have something on your mind, my sweet. What about Erica?** _

_She said someone told her you have plans for her as well._

**_Oh, yes. Yes, indeed. I have plans for each of the writers I have invaded. Yours is marriage to me, of course. You already know Stella's; however, I was thinking of actually making her into a songbird, as in a bird that will sing on command._ **

_And Erica?_

There was a moment of silence.

_**I wish to see how a servant can function under a hypnotic trance.** _

_So you're going to hypnotize her?!_

**_You make it sound like such a terrible thing. She will not feel pain. On the contrary, the trance will submerge her true self into a state of tranquility and bliss, while her servant personality takes over._ **

_I'd rather die._

**_I'll not let you. Remember the last time you tried to kill yourself? I can do it again._ **

_Set them all free! I don't want this! I DON'T WANT ANY OF THIS!_

**_Now, now, calm down, my precious. You don't even know what I'm offering. Let me show you what's in store for you when you become my bride._ **

Before she could respond, Mystic's mind went black and everything went silent.


	2. Paradise?

The sounds of bells. 

That was the first thing Mystic heard when she awoke. But part of her didn't want to wake up. Her bed was so soft.

_Wait a second._

Her bed felt _too_ soft. 

Shooting up, she found herself in a white bed covered by a canopy. To her left was a mirror. Getting out of bed, she put on her glasses and went over to the mirror, only to be shocked at what she saw. 

No, nothing had changed at all. At least, not physically. That much Mystic could tell. But there was something else. Something that made her stare. She felt......beautiful. As beautiful as she saw her best friend to be. 

"What the hell?" she gasped.  
"What's going on?"

_**I have given you sight.** _

_Sight? What are you talking about?_

**_Your college friends, the theatre major friends, your best friends, your family, this is how they see you, you know. They think you're beautiful as you are. I have given you the sight to see that._ **

Hearing this, Mystic was puzzled. She thought that the Cursed God was trying to make her life miserable, but here he was, showing her what, apparently, her friends saw in her. They saw beauty in her? How was that possible?

_No, this feels wrong. Isn't that something I should find in myself?_

**_Why? I have shown you it to be true._ **

_Yes, but......this doesn't feel right. Shouldn't it be something I find out on my own?_

**_Well, now you don't need to. Come, there is more to see._ **

* * *

Following the entity, Mystic found herself outside in a beautiful garden. One that was exactly like the one she wanted to someday have.

_What is this?_

**_This is the Garden of Hope. Where weary souls go to rejuvenate._ **

All of a sudden, she felt a strange, cooling sensation in her left arm. Looking down, she noticed that the bruise was gone.

_What the hell?_

**_Why do you hurt yourself?_ **

_It's stress relief. Besides, it's better than hurting others._

**_But doesn't it hurt them to see you inflict pain upon yourself?_ **

He did have a point. Her best friend had said so herself.

_Why are you being so kind to me? What's the catch?_

_**There is none. I just wish to show you how much better your life could be if you were to be my bride. I do want you to agree willingly, of course.**   
_

Mystic took a few moments to let this sink in. Why was he showing her all of this beauty? There HAD to be a catch.

_I mean, this IS beautiful._

**_Ahh, but we've barely just begun to scratch the surface and explore eternity. Let's keep going, shall we?_ **


	3. Elegance

Strolling through the castle, Mystic felt astonished at what she was seeing. 

_All of this? It can't be. There **MUST** be a catch._

**_I can assure you, my love, there is no catch. Have I not given you the ability to see how your loved ones see you, something you've been trying to see for years and years?_ **

_Well, yes, but----_

**_It's them, isn't it? They think I'm trying to trap you, don't they?_ **

Sighing Mystic nodded.

_They think you don't really love me._

**_THEY THINK I DON'T LOVE YOU?_ **

Pure fury radiated from his voice. 

_**AFTER EVERYTHING I'VE DONE? AFTER ALL OF THE THINGS YOU'VE BEEN WRITING DOWN ABOUT WHAT I'VE SHOWN YOU, THEY DARE TO CLAIM THAT I DON'T TRULY LOVE YOU?** _

By this time, Mystic was trembling.

_**Please don't be afraid, my dearest. It's not you that I'm angry at. It's them. They're lying to you.** _

He took a deep breath.

_**Here, let me prove it to them, to you. I have something to show you.** _

* * *

They walked along for sometime before coming to a stop in an open field. A meadow, to be precise.

_What are we doing here?_

**_I've been told you've wanted to see a blue rose. Well, look down by your feet._ **

Glancing below, sure enough, there was a pure blue rose.

_It.....It's beautiful._

**_Ah, but that's not all, my love._ **

All of a sudden, she heard the sound of hooves. Looking up, she gasped to see, right in front of her, in white.

_A.....a unicorn?_

**_Yes, indeed. It only approaches those with a pure heart._ **

The unicorn stopped at Mystic before gracefully landing his head on her lap. Mystic pet him lovingly, tears filling her eyes.

_This.....this is unbelievable! I can't remember when I've felt this happy._

**_And that's not all. Whenever you are ready, I have more to show you, my sweet._ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I mean, guys, he gave me a unicorn. 
> 
> Maybe he's just misunderstood?


	4. Meeting.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Cursed God has a meeting with a few familiar faces.

After some time, he told Mystic that he had to quickly complete some things.

Teleporting to his throne room, he saw several familiar faces. 

"Nicholas," he greeted.  
"Kerrie, Sally, what is it you have come to tell me?"

The three of them glanced at each other, unsure of where to begin. 

"I'll start," Kerrie sighed.

"Is this good?"

"Indeed, my lord," she confirmed.  
"Within Eris Rose's castle, I found a tear. It's a small one, but you can see her typing through it."

Hearing this the Cursed God smiled triumphantly.

"Excellent," he huffed.

"And she's SOOOOO cute!" Sally squealed.  
"Almost as cute as Little Orphan Annie."

"And Nicholas?"

"This.....is actually rather inconvenient news," he sighed.  
"The other writers they, uh, they're trying to get her to turn against you."

"After EVERYTHING I've done, all for her?" the Cursed God chuckled.  
"She's nearly in my grasp."

"Are you actually going to give it all to her?" Nicholas wondered.

"Of course," he nodded.  
"Absolutely. Why would I not want to thank the one who released me from my prison?"

"But wasn't it Taylor who---?" Kerrie wondered.

"DO NOT MENTION THAT DISGUSTING NAME!" he roared.  
"That witch will meet her undoing soon enough. I would have been able to have set up my palace at Paramount Ranch if it weren't for her."

"So you DON'T want to marry her?"

"Were she the last on earth, I would burn her to a crisp than be betrothed to her, burn her as she did my home."

"So what makes Mystic so special?"

"Ah, THAT," he chuckled.  
"Is extensive. In short, her mind is full of creativity. Her innocence opens her mind to many possibilities. And, of course, she was the one who helped me to access the minds of those writers in the first place. But it seems they're beginning to step out of line. We need to put them under the spell a bit more quickly. Once her series is finished, so will everything I have prepared."

"Should we send out more mind molders tonight?" Kerrie wondered.

"Hmm," he pondered.  
"Yes, BUT also send out a few sanity scorchers as well to a few......unlucky ones."

"So the ones who were responsible for----"

"Make sure that witch gets both a mind molder and a sanity scorcher! She'll pay for what she's done."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mind Molder: A spiritual parasite that invades through the ear canal before racing around the brain at such high velocities that the brain becomes open to complete mind control. The mind molder will then digest the brain and excrete it out. Going through the digestive tract has embedded the mind control right into the host. 
> 
> Sanity Scorcher: A spiritual parasite that invades the mind and feeds on the sanity of the host, which breaks them to the point where they'll even do things against their own morals. The sensation of this parasite crawling around inside of the head is said to be as if they're leaving behind a trail of the hottest lava. They will not leave until the host is completely mind-broken.


	5. The Unlucky Parasites

After a few moments, Luke arrived with two tanks filled with vicious spiritual parasites.

"Who exactly are we sending these to?" he wondered.

"Everyone who was responsible for what happened at Paramount Ranch, for one," the Cursed God growled.  
"That would include........HER. She orchestrated the whole thing, after all. The mastermind behind it. In fact, send her 2 of each."

"Wasn't Nora there as well?" Kerrie asked. 

"Yes," he agreed in a venomous hiss.   
"Yes, she was. In fact she was the one who lit the first match. However, I'm working on breaking her. She feels so guilty about killing them off. She's no better than I am, at least that's what I want her to think. Besides, she has been praising my works in those 'novelizations'. She'll make an excellent propaganda producer once she's completely under my thumb. As a matter of fact, send her a Mind Molder with instructions to produce and post a story or two praising and worshipping me."

"Noted," Luke nodded.  
"What about Erica? And that Penelope chick?"

"Hmm. We need to get Penelope to remember her days before joining the S.A.E. Remind her how satisfying it was to hypnotize those unsuspecting victims. Indeed she'll be an excellent hypnotist for my army. As for Erica, make her Penelope's first victim of very deep hypnosis; I want to see if, while her true personality is stuck in a state of tranquility, she'll still be able to function with a servant personality implanted in her mind."

"Okay, what about Stella?"

The Cursed God smirked.

"Oh, I've decided on a better plan than breaking her; make her Penelope's second victim of very deep hypnosis. She'll become a true songbird whenever I or my bride commands her."

"Got it. Who else?"

"Let's see;  
"Lisbet, make her believe she's Nicholas's daughter.   
"Arya, clone them and turn them into my MINION ARMY!  
"Caelan, well, there's this thing in the future called Pokemon and there's a Pokemon with that prefix. Make them into an obedient Pokemon.  
"Alice, hmm, I've always been rather fond of the story of _Alice in Wonderland._ Make her Penelope's third victim; she'll believe she's Alice from _Alice in Wonderland._  
"Tristen, turn them into an obedient android.   
"Dooper, make them into an obedient Pokemon as well, I guess.   
"Harlow, make them an obedient agent for our side.   
"Briar, turn them into an obedient dragon.   
"Ciel, make them believe they are Cinderella, but just the obedient servant part of Cinderella.   
"Rene, another propaganda producer.   
"Parris, inject them with that special mixture I made. It will make them grow fresh, juicy, magical blueberries from their body for all of eternity. Oh, and hypnotize them as well.   
"Sunny, inject them with the other special mixture to make them grow fresh, flavorful, magical gum for all of eternity.   
"Sequoia, inject them with the third special mixture and make them produce gold coins. They'll be our personal bank.  
"Kasey, make them feel nothing but total allegiance and obedience to us.   
"Shiloh, turn them into an obedient wolf.  
"Celeste, inject her with the fourth mixture and hypnotize her. She'll personally create constellations for us. And if she's good, I'll create a dark queen Safiya for her to marry.   
"Cedar, I dunno, make them a poet or something."

"Is that everyone?" Luke asked as the other clowns sent out the customized parasites.

The Cursed God thought for a moment.

"No," he answered.  
"Send that special spiritual bug to my bride."

"The innocence insect?" Sally gasped.

"Yes," the Cursed God replied.  
"Her innocence is one of the reasons I'm so fond of her. Why not make her even more so? Oh, and make sure the bug is sweet and gentle to her. Send a sleeper as well, just in case. She'll wake up feeling reborn. And she'll be so sweet and kind and cute and gentle. Speaking of cute, Sally, I'm going to need you to get Rosanna as well. She'll be the perfect companion for my bride."

And what that, every single spiritual parasite had been sent out to their unaware hosts. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm interested to see the fanfics that come out of this.


	6. WARNING. WARNING. DANGER. DANGER.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which more of us are fucked.

The Cursed God sat contently upon his throne as the parasites were delivered to each unlucky recipient. He felt rather content with himself. Not only would this world fall to chaos, but he would have someone by his side to watch it all go to shit.

"Um, your majesty?" Luke squeaked.  
"We seem to have a problem. Those who received their parasites already are fighting hard."

"Let them fight," he declared.  
"They'll exhaust themselves eventually."

"That, however, includes fair Mystic."

This took him by surprise.

"Well," he chuckled.  
"She's more strong-willed than I anticipated."

"Um, your majesty," Nicholas coughed.  
"I hope you don't mind, but....I've been lonely for a while myself. Maybe when all of this goes to shit, I could, you know, have a bride of my own. Or groom."

The Cursed God cackled loudly.

"Why didn't you just ask sooner?" he hooted.  
"Did you have someone in mind?"

"Um, well, yeah," he sighed.  
"I've, uh, I've kinda got my eyes on.......what's her name? Nora, I think. I think she goes by Magic though. Her influence could, uh, could help people see the light in the dark and then....then they'd default to us."

The Cursed God, weighing this possibility, made a few pondering noises.

"I suppose her influence could be good for someone. She could be my propaganda creator by day, your wife by night. What the hell? Go ahead. Luke, send her a Love Lock, with a bit of Nicholas's hair embedded into it."

"Noted."

"BUT.......also send one to Morticia. Have 'em battle one another for Nicholas."

"Noted."

"Oh! Maybe I could have someone?" Kerrie exclaimed.  
"I was thinking, maybe, that Dooper dude or Erica. I think maybe an extra clown could help us out."

"Go with Erica after her real self falls into the trance. She'll definitely fall into the psychotic clown persona, once Penelope falls into our clutches."

"I'll note that as well."

"Anyone you would like, Sally?"

"I just wanna cuddle with Mystic and Annie."

"What about us?" three voice spat.

Boots clomping the three witches strutted inside.

"We helped you as well," Debra scoffed.

"Yeah," Sandra added.  
"We were the ones who sucked up Maria's youth. How about you give one to ME to suck the youth out of."

"One for me," Debra piped up.  
"To turn into a minion puppet."

"And one for me," Belle contributed.  
"I dunno. Just someone for me to mess around with."

"And ME!" a voice squealed.

Running in with a growling demon dog by her side is Lucy, the Carnival Master's daughter, giggling maniacally.

"Give ME someone to crazify."

"Sweetheart, daddy's a little busy," Nicholas sighed.

"Please, daddy," she cried.  
"Please get me a playmate to turn crazy! OH, and one for Humphrey. I don't care what he does with them. I just want him to have one too."

"ENOUGH!" the Cursed God exclaimed.  
"THIS is how it will work; I shall have Mystic. Nicholas will have Nora and Morticia fight for his affections. Kerrie, you'll get Erica once we get Penelope under our control. Sally, you can cuddle with Mystic once in a while, but you can take Little Orphan Annie. Sandra, I'll give you.....Arya. Debra, you'll get........uh........Sunny. Belle, you can mess around with our little Alice who's traveling deeper into Wonderland. Lucy, you'll get Lisbet. And Humphrey.......I dunno, take Kasey. Is everyone happy now?"

"Wait," a voice called out.

Willie walks inside.

"I want a crazy person to help me run the funhouse."

"Dooper," the Cursed God replied without hesitation.  
"You'll get Dooper. As for anyone else who wants their own writer to corrupt, take one from the pile. Now is **EVERYONE** satisfied?"

A general murmur of agreement rippled throughout the room.

"Good. Luke, did you get all those name?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, everyone who hasn't assigned a purpose to their writer, talk to Luke and he'll send the appropriate parasite."

The others gathered around him as the Cursed God huffed in relief. 

"Um, I don't mean to be a bother," Willie squeaked.  
"But I think I overheard Luke saying that Mystic is fighting her parasite."

"Yes, I know. I'll be back."

And with that, he disappeared.


	7. Tick Tock, Tick Tock

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Guys, I'm shook in a good way. Colleen just had her baby and Safiya's engaged. 
> 
> WHAT IS HAPPENING TO LIFE?

The Cursed God returned to the meadow only to find Mystic lying on the ground, shaking and weeping in agony

 _ **"My love,"**_ he gasped as he knelt down beside her.  
 _ **"What's wrong?"**_

There was no reply for a few moments as she tried to gather herself together.

"There......there are.....bugs in my head, trying to......make me innocent. Make me sleep. I'm frightened. I want to go home."

He took ahold of her back and without lifting a finger, she felt them leave her. At least she hoped they left. She felt a hand on her head, slowly and gently caressing her.

 _ **"There, there, my sweet,"**_ he coaxed her.  
 _ **"They won't bother you again."**_

"You promise?" she whimpered, looking up at him timidly, like a small child.

He nodded.

_**"I promise."** _

She sniffled a bit more and tried to wipe away her tears, still shivering. With the snap of his fingers, a blanket appeared over her and a pillow appeared beside her.

_**"All of that fighting looked as though it wore you down, didn't it?"** _

Softly, she nodded. 

_**"It's made you rather tired, hasn't it?"** _

She nodded again, her eyes fluttering as he caressed her head, slowly and gently bringing her to the ground. 

_**"All you need is to rest for a while, my dear."** _

She began to feel her mind fog up. She was rather tired at this point. Maybe a little shut-eye would do her some good. Suddenly she heard something in her head, a rather quiet voice, a rather familiar voice.

_i'll get to do my job. papa will be so happy._

Her eyes widened in fright and she quickly stood up, backing away from the Cursed God.

 _ **"What's wrong, love?"**_ The Cursed God wondered.  
 _ **"You look as if you've seen a ghost."**_

He reached out for her, but she backed away. 

_**"There's no need to be afraid,"**_ he tried to coax her.

"Stay back," Mystic gasped angrily.  
"Leave me alone."

_**"Wherefore on earth are you acting like this? You must be more tired than I thought. Let me help you fall asleep."** _

All of a sudden, a ticking clock began to click in her mind. She began to find him reminiscent of the _Gotham_ Mad Hatter. She tried to fight against it, but it was beginning to wear her down. 

"I should've known better," she groaned as she clasped the sides of her head.  
"Than to trust you."

 _ **"It would be best if you do,"**_ he growled advancing on her.  
 _ **"I don't want to use force, but I shall if necessary."**_

She stumbled back as a group of pixies began to surround her, trying to hold her captive and giggling in her ear. The ticking grew louder and she swatted at the pixies. Once she found an opening in the pixies' defense, she sprinted off.


	8. Detoxus Maxima

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> POLL TIME:  
> What Hogwarts/Ilvermorny house combo do you think I am?
> 
> Or you could do Hogwarts house if you don't know Ilvermorny too well.

It must have been hours before she came to a halt in a clearing. Skidding to a stop, she tried to catch her breath. That was when she noticed the ticking again. It grew and grew, driving her mad, until she screamed. All of a sudden, she felt a cloth cover her mouth. Fearing the worst, she struggled against her attacker.

"Shh!" a voice shushed.  
"Are you ETNMystic?"

"Yeah, why?"

In her struggle, she saw a whip of raven-black, hair or sleeve; to be honest, she wasn't sure. She briefly stopped and whirled around to see her apprehender who pulled down the black hood of their cloak.

"Safiya?" she exclaimed.  
"What are you---?"

"Shh! Not here. It's too dangerous."

Putting an arm over her shoulder, covering her with large, black, cloth bat wings, Safiya quickly lead her through brush and hedges. It seemed like hours before she spoke.

"I know the Cursed God sent out those parasites," she informed Mystic quietly as they ran.  
"That's why I had to gather everyone before it affected them. We're working to pull Alice out of her Wonderland trance, but for the most part, I'd say we're doing alright."

"Who's we?" Mystic asked softly.

"You'll see. We're nearly there. Is that ticking sound still in your head?"

Mystic nodded, but could just hear a slight ticking.

"It's quieter, though."

"This cloak can block out the majority of mental auditory transmissions to the point where they're barely noticeable. We'll need to get you into the detox chamber the very second you come out from the cloak."

After a few minutes, they came to a stop at a brick wall. Safiya, using her left hand, took out a strange pen-stick combo and traced strange inscriptions into it until it opened up to reveal a secret hideout. 

"Safiya!" a blonde-haired girl gasped as they stepped through, the wall closing behind them.   
"You found her!"

"Yeah. Is the detox chamber ready, Justine?"

"Andrea just finished setting it up."

"Good. Let's get going, Mystic."

Still covered by the cloak, Mystic was lead to a bunker, down several flights of stairs to a laboratory where she was surprised to find Matthew Patrick finishing up with something. Hearing their footsteps, he whirled around to face them and smiled.

"Hey!" he gasped.  
"You got her back safe!"

"Is the detox chamber available?"

"Yup!" a voice from within an antechamber called. 

Peeking up from beneath a wall, Andrea Brooks waved through a window before standing up and exiting the room. 

"Sorry about that, Saf," she apologized.  
"I just had to make a few last minute adjustments."

"It's fine."

Before Mystic could ask anything, Saf pulled her in close.

"Okay, here's the deal. In a second, I'm going to lift up the cloak. When I do, you need to get into the chamber immediately. Understood?"

Mystic nodded nervously and Saf rubbed her back.

"It's gonna be okay. On three. 1, 2, 3!"

Safiya moved away and Mystic dashed inside. Andrea shut and locked the door behind her as Safiya grabbed a lab coat and a pair of goggles, causing Mystic to feel a bit of concern.

"Uh, should I be wearing protective gear as well?" she asked through the room.

"Aside from the gloves behind you, you're fine," Safiya assured her as Andrea and Matt followed suit.  
"There's nothing inside of us that needs to be killed, meaning that if we were to be hit with this, we would be changed drastically. This is gonna kill the parasites and the ticking noise that you've been affected with."

She went over to a control panel flipping several switches and pushing several buttons as Mystic pulled on the gloves. The second she did, she felt herself being pulled back against the wall; soon her hands were pinned down and she couldn't lift them.

"Uh, is this supposed to happen?" she questioned.

"Yes," Safiya confirmed.  
"That parasite's gonna tell you to cover your ears and that lowers the effectiveness of the frequency. The gloves are a precaution."

Nervous, Mystic gulped as Safiya finished up with the controls.

"Okay, now this might hurt a bit, but the pain will be from the parasites struggling. Everyone ready?"

"Yep," Andrea nodded.

"Yeah," Matt agreed.

"Not even in the slightest," Mystic squeaked fearfully. 

Safiya pressed a button and a high-pitched frequency began to emit. Something inside of her mind began to writhe in agony. 

_Plug your ears. I have to do my job._

_No. Even if I wanted to, I can't._

_Pull away. My papa needs you as his bride._

The ticking sound began to speed up and Mystic winced in agony. 

"Hang in there, Mystic," Safiya encouraged her.  
"I'm gonna turn up the frequency."

The pitch became louder and faster. Mystic swore she could hear the parasites cry out in pain, causing her to tense up and shut her eyes. It felt like years were passing by, but the ticking and parasites were beginning to die out. She felt something fall out of each of her ears and onto the floor. The ticking was almost gone as well.

All of a sudden, a siren rang out as a violet laser bounced around the room.

"Andrea?" Safiya gasped.  
"What the hell happened?"

"I don't know," Andrea squawked in a panic.  
"I think I slipped up against it."

"Saf, you need to turn off the magnet," Matt exclaimed.

"I can't. It's stuck!"

More lasers began to shoot out and the room became pandemonium. All of a sudden, Mystic felt several of them hit her at once. Looking down and opening her eyes, she saw herself glowing violet.

 _Oh shit,_ she thought.  
_Is this it? Am I gonna die?_

By this point, the ticking was gone, but Mystic didn't care. She just wanted to get the hell out of here before things got worse. 

"The emergency breaker panel!" Safiya exclaimed.  
"Hit the breaker! Quick!" 

Like lightning, Matt dashed over and opened up a panel before hitting a button. The lasers shut off before the last hit against either Mystic or the wall and the gloves dropped off. Mystic felt incredibly dizzy. In response, Safiya dashed inside and took ahold of her.

"Wha....what......was that?" Mystic groaned breathily.

"Andrea, what was that?" Safiya exclaimed firmly as she carried Mystic out of the chamber.

The Fixer took some time to think about this before it came to her.

"I remember. I was trying out a supernatural power laser device, and I think I may have accidentally crossed the wires of that with the wires of the power shut-off button."

"How do you confuse those two?" Matt chuckled.

"They look very similar."

"Guys," Mystic began wearily.  
"I.....um.......I.......I don't......feel....so....good."

With that Mystic's head dropped to her chest and the world turned silent and dark.


	9. floating

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What is real and what is fantasy?

_Floating......_

_Mist all around me......._

_As far as the eye can see._

_Calm._

_Peace._

_But dark._

_Shadow._

_Where is Safiya?_

_Matt?_

_Andrea?_

_Have they left?_

_Shadow._

_It approaches me._

_It's him!_

_He reaches out._

_I try to fight._

_My body won't move._

_He caresses my head._

_Encircles it with smoke._

_It settles on my head._

_I begin to change._

_Mind grows darker._

_Knowledge fades._

_I'm being rewritten._

_Rewritten._

_I feel a ring appear._

_Something's wrong._

_Something's wrong._

_Something's wrong._

_But oh so right._

_Fear is foreign now._

_Sadness does not exist._

_Cynicism is not within me._

_Only innocence._

_Innocence._

_Innocence._

_He is not cruel._

_He is loving._

_He is kind._

_He is my world._

_I must stay innocent._

_Stay pure._

_For him._

_Stay pure._

_Stay like a child._

_He'll protect me._

_He'll protect me._

_I shall love him for eternity._

_Eternity..........._


	10. More Than Company

"No! No! No! Get me out of this!"

I shot awake in a canopied bed, shrieking in fright, my eyes still closed. All of a sudden, the door burst open. Pairs of feet ran inside, and I could vaguely make out words, but I was too paralyzed with fear to fully hear any of them. Out of nowhere, she felt her feet being pinned down and she began to fight.

"No! Let go of me! I won't let you change me, you bastard!" 

Mystic was frantic and screeching like a harpy as more sets of hands began to pin down hers. 

"Get the fuck away from me!"

"Mystic!" a voice exclaimed.  
"It's me, Safiya!"

It took them a few minutes, but eventually Mystic managed to tire herself out. Opening her eyes, blinking to adjust her vision, she saw Matt and Safiya, but also three new faces. One was a woman with dark red hair. Another was a woman in olive green. And the final was a cute, short brunette. 

"Is this her, Safiya?" the brunette wondered as Mystic trembled. 

Safiya nodded.

"This is ETNMystic."

"Poor girl. What happened?"

Mystic was reluctant to open up. She felt almost catatonic. The tears were welling up, but the floodgates seemed strong. She was supposed to be strong. She HAD to be strong. All of a sudden, she felt Safiya rub her back. The second Saf laid her hand on her back, Mystic couldn't contain herself. She wept in terror. Immediately the brunette went over to her.

"Do you want a hug?" she asked sweetly.

Mystic nodded and felt the girl's warm embrace. One thing she noticed was that the girl smelled of gingerbread. She continued to cry and whimper, trying to find the right words to express what exactly happened. 

"I was floating....alone," she mumbled weakly.  
"And he......approached me. He......changed me. I'm scared! I don't want him to find me. I don't want to feel isolated."

"Shh," the brunette hushed her gently.  
"It's okay. We'll make sure he doesn't. You're safe with us."

"You won't feel isolated anymore," Matt assured her kindly.  
"You have us."

"We'll do our utmost to protect you," the red-haired woman agreed.

"But he's powerful!" Mystic retaliated.  
"We don't stand a chance when he finds us."

"IF he finds us," the woman in olive-green corrected her.   
"This sanctuary is contained inside of a lock that only resistance members can access. To civilians, and evil, it's nonexistent."

"But...but the brick wall---"

"That's what resistance members see," the red-haired woman told her.  
"To everyone else, it doesn't exist. The only way he'd be able to get in is if a resistance member were to let him in."

"Wha...what is the resistance?"

"Our group," Safiya informed her.  
"Dedicated to undoing the damage from the siege of darkness and taking down the Cursed God for good. It's made up of those who've been allied with the Society Against Evil. And, hopefully soon, those like you."

"What do you mean 'like me'?"

"The writers," the brunette clarified.  
"Alice, Kasey, Stella, Nora, you, Dooper, Erica, you get the gist. Those who've added stories and poetry to the fandom."

"I mean," Matt piped up.  
"It's not exactly a fandom anymore, now that it's begun to seep over into reality."

"We've been sending out agents to find and retrieve you all," Safiya added.  
"I was tasked with finding you. Gabbie just went out to get Nora."

"Who else is here?" Mystic wondered.

"We've retrieved Alice," the red-haired woman began.  
"But the spell on her is exceptionally powerful. I sent out Liza to retrieve Dooper. Nikita should be back with Erica and Penelope soon. Colleen should be back with Stella soon.

"Who was the first?"

"Alice. You're our second. You would've been first, but Alice's spell is rather fast-acting. We've really only recently set up some sort of base camp. I'm Alison, by the way. This is Calliope."

She indicated to the woman in olive-green.

"And I believe you know Rosanna."

The cute brunette waved hello.

"So THAT'S why you smelled like gingerbread," Mystic gasped.

Ro nodded.

"I was making some gingerbread cookies cuz it's almost the holidays."

All of a sudden, the door upstairs burst open. Soon enough came Gabbie, dressed in black, along with a woman with dark hair.

"I got Nora," she replied triumphantly.  
"It was a close call. We almost got caught by some of those clown bitches, but we took a shortcut and lost them."

"Good," Safiya told her.  
"Get her to detox. Andrea should've fixed the wire mishap."

"Wait," Nora exclaimed in shock.  
"Mystic? Is that you?"

Mystic nodded.

"We better hurry," Gabbie informed her.  
"The sooner we can get rid of those parasites, the better."

"Can I see the others afterwards?"

"Sure. Knock yourself out."

And away they went.

"But I don't understand," Mystic rambled.  
"Why am I HIS target?"

"We don't have the answer to that right now," Alison sighed.  
"But in the meantime, I think you should get some rest."

Hearing this, Mystic shook her head furiously.

"I'm too scared to sleep after what just happened."

"Would you feel better if someone were to stay with you?"

Mystic nodded vigorously.

"I'll stay," Ro and Safiya volunteered at the same time.

"Um, can I stay as well?" Matt piped up.  
"She seems like someone who I can nerd out with afterwards."

"I'll go check on Nora's detox," Calliope informed them.

"I'll go see if it's safe to send more agents," Alison told the others.

Both of them exited the room.

(KEEP AN EYE ON THIS CHAPTER CUZ I'LL PROBABLY ADD MORE LATER, BUT I'M TIRED AND I WANT CHOCOLATE AND ICE CREAM)


	11. Infusion

The Cursed God had tried to run after Mystic, but she'd been too persistent. He'd almost caught up with her at the clearing when he saw a figure in black jump out of the bushes and take her. With this, he summoned a dose of psychic magic and did a mental scan on the villain. 

"Morticia," he hissed furiously.  
"You're lucky Nicholas might still want you, or else you'd be toast for stealing my bride."

Safiya had been a thorn in his side for a while now, especially after she and the others joined the society. She was dangerously intelligent. Were she not with the Society, he might consider her a valuable asset to his army. It was also likely that she'd designed the cloaking system for the Society's sanctuary. He'd tried for weeks to locate it, but his venture had been fruitless; every search led him nowhere. And now that the Society had Mystic held captive, even more was at stake for him to find her.

"Looks like I'll need some backup," he growled.

Without hesitation, he summoned some more psychic magic, he teleported away, vowing to find the hideout. And the second he found Mystic and took her back to the palace, he'd make sure they'd be married and crowned immediately. 

* * *

Returning to the throne room, he consulted his current army; the clowns, Cindy, Benjamin, Wilmer, Veronica, the Twin Dolls, Willie, the Witch sisters, Lucy and her dog, and Nicholas. 

"The Society has her and the others held captive," he informed them.  
"If we're going to find and infiltrate, then we must do it together."

"How the hell are we supposed to find it if YOU weren't able to?" the female Twin Doll asked.  
"I mean, you're the one with the magic, after all. My brother and I just have knives."

"And dolls," her brother added.

"That too."

"I could possibly bring the Psychedelic Swirl," Willie suggested.  
"That would surely bring some of them over to our side. They'd become too mad to be able to distinguish right from wrong. They might even kill some of the Society for us."

"I mean, then if Willie here's bringing one of his toys," the female Twin Doll shrugged.  
"Then I could probably bring the cursed Monkey Doll."

"You mean the one whose cymbals turn people into puppets?" her male counterpart asked.

"Yeah, that one."

"I could probably bite a few of them," Cindy volunteered.  
"My venom's pretty potent and painful."

"And my arms could probably grab your bride and bring her to you," Benjamin added. 

"Babe and I could definitely take out a few of them with my.......big, strong demon arm," Wilmer growled as he flexed his arm. 

"If daddy will let me have the collar, I could put it on one of them and turn them into a puppet," Lucy cackled.  
"And Humphrey could tear some of them to shreds!"

"I could possibly entrance a few of them with my magic," Belle suggested.

"I'll suck the youth out of a few of those women," Sandra contributed.

"And I can seduce the men into fighting for us," Darla piped up proudly only to remember one minor detail.  
"Except for the gay guys. It....it doesn't work on gay guys. But it DOES work on lesbians. And a few bisexuals. And pansexuals."

"Trying to get the entire spectrum in there, aren't you?" Sandra scoffed.  
"What if they're asexual?"

"Then it doesn't work on them. And demisexuals are a bit of a gamble. Like, if they've seen you before, there's a better chance it'll work, but I don't really care if I know them."

"Well, that's all fine and dandy," Kerrie piped up.  
"But how the hell are we gonna find the hideout in the first place?"

The villain squad sat around for a bit and gave this some thought. And it was Lucy who was first to speak.

"I'm pretty sure they're sending out Society members to retrieve the writers. If we can catch one on their way back, I could snag them with the collar and they'd be ours to control. They'd even let us in because they have the inscription keys with them! And once we're inside......chaos!"

"But if it's just us," Luke groaned.  
"I don't feel like it'll be enough chaos. If we can create a rip in the fabric of time and space, we can travel through it and collect the villains from the other times. I mean, they have the guests from the other times, so it'll only be fair."

"That's true," Sally remarked. 

"Wait," Nicholas wondered.  
"Kerrie, didn't you say you saw a rip in Eris Rose's castle? If we can get to it and then open it more, we can travel to the other times."

"Did you fools forget," the Cursed God chuckled.  
"That I extend through ALL of the time periods and that I made deals with EVERY main villain? I can simply bring them here!"

With a snap of his fingers, Arthur, Sarah, and Marvin appeared followed by the Ungodly Creature, Madison, her sisters, and Calvin. With a second snap of his fingers, soon appeared the Sorceress, the vampires, Jorogumo, Cash and the leader of the Dark Army, the Gingerbread Woman, the Ice Witch, the Prometheans, the werewolves, and the Devourer. All of them looked ready for a fight.

"You called, my lord?" The Sorceress asked with a lustful look in her eyes.

"The Society has kidnapped my new bride. I don't assume you know who I mean, do you?"

"I certainly wish I did," Calvin hummed.  
"A girl who is lucky enough to be chosen by you must certainly be something special."

"Indeed," the Cursed God agreed.  
"Now we need to find their hideout, but it seems to be cloaked. So listen carefully while I tell you our plan."


	12. Fluff and Shit, We're Totally Screwed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fun Fact: The first new episode, I think, that I saw of ETN when I first joined, like when I premiered, was "A Nation Divided," which was the first time we heard the voice of the Cursed God.
> 
> Coincidence? I THINK NOT!!!

After Calliope and Alison left, keeping to their word, Matt, Ro, and Safiya stayed with Mystic, making sure that she was okay. But Mystic still had bits of the nightmare replaying in her mind. So that even when trying to sleep, she'd still wake up screaming and crying. 

"I'm so sorry," she squeaked to the three of them after the seventh time this happened, as tears rolled down her face.  
"I really am. I'm just so terrified that he'll find me again."

"We know," Safiya assured her bringing her in close and rubbing her head gently as she rocked her softly.  
"We know."

"I thought something like this would make me feel excited," she whimpered.  
"Like, I've always considered myself someone who loves the thrill of the chase and the idea that a villain wants to marry me would mean that someone actually cares about me and likes me for me for once in my life."

This made Safiya, Matt, and Ro's blood run cold.

"What?" Ro gasped, shocked and heartbroken at what she just heard.

"I......I.....I don't wanna talk about it right now," Mystic stammered quickly.  
"I just didn't expect that I'd be so scared. I don't even know if he truly loves me or is just extremely obsessed with me."

After a few moments of silence, save for Mystic's crying and sniffling, she felt a soft and gentle nudge on her face. And then another. Looking up, she saw Ro smiling sweetly and holding a purple stuffed puppy.

"Woof, woof," she barked softly.  
"This is Blueberry. He wanted to come cheer you up."

"Oh shoot!" Matt exclaimed.  
"I left Blanche in my room! It could've been even cuter."

"Matt," Ro chastised him playfully.  
"With Mystic here, bringing in Blanche would just make the room explode with cuteness."

Hearing this, Mystic blushed and tried to hide her face.

"I'm not cute," she grumbled, her face flushing. 

"No," Ro replied.  
"You're absolutely adorable."

"Look who's talking," Mystic scoffed.  
"You are, like, the epitome of adorable, Ro!"

Ro brought her hands to her cheeks to try and hide them.

"I probably shouldn't have worn blush," she giggled.  
"But you ARE adorable, Mystic."

"But you're actually adorable. So many people love you," Mystic argued.  
"I'm trash."

"Hey!" Ro chastised her playfully.  
"If you talk badly about yourself again, I'll have to have Saf tickle you."

"What?" Safiya exclaimed.  
"Why me?"

Ro shrugged.

"I mean, I'd help."

Giggling, Mystic turned to Matt.

"Hey, Matt. Have you ever played the game _Food Fantasy_?"

He shook his head.

"You should, cuz I have a theory; I feel like each Food Soul is representative of who battle mental illness, trauma. Like one of the things one of the characters says when you tap them on the main screen is something along the lines of "Please. Don't toy with me." Like, that's kind of a strange thing for a character to say, especially because this character looks and sounds like a little girl."

"Huh," Matt exclaimed.  
"That's pretty interesting, actually."

All of a sudden, Liza dashed inside with Dooper in tow.

"Safiya!" she nearly screamed; she had several cuts on her black uniform.

"Oh my God!" Safiya exclaimed in shock.  
"Liza, are you okay?"

"I got ambushed," she explained.  
"They're trying to find the sanctuary."

Mystic's eye grew wide and she began to hyperventilate. Sensing this, Ro wrapped her in a tight hug.

"I mean, if it's just those clowns, I think we're fine," Matt shrugged.

"Oh hon, it's not just the clowns!" Colleen gasped as she dragged Stella down with her.  
"It's everyone from the Ungodly Creature to the zombies. It's every villain from every season."

"Every villain?" Mystic stammered.  
"You're fucking kidding me."

"I think they're trying to find the sanctuary."

Safiya suddenly shot up out of the bed.

"Colleen, after you detox Stella, you contact Roanoke and Katsumi. They'll get us through to Jael and Ryu. After that take the writers we've gotten so far and take them further down in the bunker," she ordered sharply.  
"Liza, get Dooper into the other detox chamber. Then inform the others. Matt, you and Ro get Mystic somewhere safe. We need to put the sanctuary on lockdown."

"Wait," Liza gasped.  
"Nikita's still out there. And Calliope just sent out Manny to get Montana."

Safiya huffed in frustration.

"I mean, we can probably wait if it's just them," Ro suggested.

"Oh, it's not just them," Liza shook her head before counting out the new missions sent out.  
"Sierra was just sent out to find Caelan. Justine's out to get Harlow. Joey's going after Sequoia. Jetpack Girl's out searching for Taylor. JC's retrieving Tristen. Roi's after Celeste. Andrea Russett's out to find Lisbet. Andrea Brooks's on the hunt for Kasey. Tana's looking for Arya. Lauren and Alex are finding Parris and Sunny. And Tyler's going out to find Rene." 


	13. In which things kinda make sense and Nora might know something I don't?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So there's a BIT of clarity, I guess.

"Are you kidding me?" Safiya exclaimed as Liza rushed Stella and Dooper to the detox chambers.  
"That's too many to put us on lockdown! What's worse, if they get ahold of one of us, they can get inside."

"So then what do we do?" Colleen retaliated.  
"We can't just call everyone back! We're on a time restraint."

"We just might have to," she sighed.  
"I know it's risky, but agents have the inscription keys to get inside. If the Cursed God uses the psychedelic swirl or the Collar of Control, that group could easily gain access and then Mystic would be in their hands. Right now protecting her is our number one priority. If the Cursed God gets his hands on her and marries her, all of time and space are doomed."

"Wait, what?" Mystic nearly screamed in disbelief.  
"You're telling me that if this dude marries me, then the world's fucked?"

"Not just the world," Colleen confessed regretfully.  
"Time and space, even history, would become pure chaos if you two were married."

"But why?" she stammered confused as fuck.  
"I'm just a twenty year old autistic writer! How the hell would us getting married cause all of time and space to fall to shit?"

"It's complicated," Safiya sighed.

"Try me," Mystic rebounded, tired of having things shrugged off like that.

"I think I can do this," Matt volunteered.  
"Saf, you and Colleen decide if we should call the agents back."

"Very well," she sighed as she power-walked out with Colleen.

Once they were gone, Matt shut the door, went over to the bureau nearby, opened a drawer, and took out a touchpad and stylus. He motioned for Ro and Mystic to come over. With a few taps of the stylus, a hologram of Mystic was displayed upon the screen.

"Oh my God," Mystic gasped.  
"Is this real?"

"Which? This hologram or the predicament you're in? The answer to both is yes," Matt told her.

"Okay, so what the hell does me marrying this Cursed God have to do with the fate of time and space?"

Matt took the stylus and zoomed in on her body. On the inside were bones, organs, and blood vessels; all of them were glowing a familiar violet.

"Wait," Mystic gasped.  
"Is that----?"

"Remains of the laser you were hit with in the detox chamber," Matt confirmed nodding.  
"See, before you were hit with the lasers, it wasn't AS big of a deal if you got captured, but still pretty major. Once you made that deal with the Cursed God, you created pathways to the other writers, but your influence and his method of intrapersonal travel were limited to the virtual world. But even with that, the Cursed God was open to travel to and corrupt just about anyone, since the internet is so widely used.   
"But after you came into contact with that laser, I did a scan of your body; we discovered that that laser gave you several types of magic, and one of those was being able to sever bonds between reality and fantasy and even merge the two together. Have you wondered why the Cursed God had been treating you so well?"

Mystic nodded.

"It's because the power can be used by anyone you're close with, but only with your consent. If he gains your trust, you're more likely to be lenient in him using that power."

"Is that why he said he wants me to agree willingly to marry him?"

"Exactly; even if he were to hypnotize you, it wouldn't work unless you had some degree of trust in him prior to the hypnosis."

"But I didn't have this beforehand," she argued.  
"Why would he treat me nicely even if he thought I didn't have it?"

"That's a bit of a tricky one," Matt sighed.  
"But my hypothesis has to do with the parasites he sent you. If you were made completely innocent, he could persuade you to obtain that sort of power and because you would already have trust in him, it'd be easy for him to convince you to let him use it."

"But wouldn't he then just kill me afterwards?" Mystic scoffed.  
"If I separated the bond between reality and fantasy, he'd have no need for me, right?"

"That's what we originally thought," Ro sighed.  
"But Matt discovered that, in order for it to remain, you'd have to be alive. Once that barrier is broken, you'd become the source of power needed to sustain his reign of chaos. If you were to die, everything up to before the magic was used would be undone. It's why he stopped you when you tried to kill yourself."

"And if I were to try even after," Mystic realized.  
"He'd stop me again."

Ro and Matt nodded regretfully.

"But why me? Anyone else would be just as good of a candidate, if not better! In fact, why didn't he pick Nora? She has a shit-ton of influence, way more than I do!"

"Well, you made the deal with him, which allowed him to gain access to you and obtain a pathway into the virtual world," Matt told her.

"No, I mean why was he targeting me? How did he find out about me?"

"What do you mean?" Ro asked.

Mystic sighed.

"When I was finishing one of my stories, he just randomly offered the deal to me. As far as I know, he never reached out to me until then, meaning he probably didn't know me too well, if at all. So then how did he come to pick ME as a target?"

"That's another tricky question," Matt admitted.  
"When we found out about his plan to use one of you to sever the bonds between reality and fantasy, we thought he WOULD choose Nora, since she also has influence on YouTube, so it came as a surprise when we found out you were his target. No offense."

"None taken," she shrugged somberly.

But suddenly, something came to her mind.

"Do you think that maybe there's something that Nora might know about this that we don't? I mean, he had to have at least approached her at some point or another. What if we made a case file that allowed everyone to record their encounters? Then we'd be able to piece together the puzzle and find some answers."

"That'd be risky," Matt shook his head.  
"If you'd do it on the internet, he'd be able to access the information and then use it against you."

"So am I basically screwed?" Mystic whimpered.

Matt gave this some thought, trying to figure out how to tell her without discouraging her. Then there was something he remembered. There was indeed a way to stop the Cursed God, but it was extremely risky and gave them slim chances of success, but at this point, they were desperate. Even if the chances were small, it'd be better than no chance."

"No, I don't think you're basically screwed. I mean, there's a high chance you're screwed, but there's also a chance we can stop him."

"What would give us that chance?"

"The Tokens of Everlock."


	14. What is this feeling?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which I accidentally added this to the Holiday Treasury apparently.
> 
> My bad.

"The what of who?" Mystic asked in shock.

"The Tokens of Everlock," Matt informed her.  
"They bind the Cursed God to Everlock, allow him to control the environment. If we can break them all at once, they'd weaken his connection enough for him to be destroyed."

"So then why'd you say it's a slim chance?"

"The Tokens are difficult to find," Matt exclaimed.  
"They've been lost for years, hundreds or even thousands."

"Does anyone know anything about these?"

"Calliope told us what she knows," Ro answered.  
"Which, unfortunately, even she said isn't much to go off of."

All of a sudden, two pairs of footsteps rush down into the bunker and in enter Jetpack Girl with another writer and Safiya.

"Hey!" Mystic gasped.  
"Is that---?"

"Get Taylor to detox," Safiya exclaimed to Jetpack Girl.  
"Now!"

Jetpack Girl runs off and Safiya re-enters the room.

"How are you holding up?" she asked Mystic kindly.

"Fine, I guess. Except now there's this whole thing with some tokens or something."

"You told her about the tokens?" Safiya asked them in disbelief.

"Look, trying to find the tokens will give us a better chance than if we just stood around and did nothing," Matt argued.  
"First things first; we need to talk to Nora and Liza. In fact, we should probably get some info from each of the writers we've detoxed so far."

All of a sudden, Mystic felt a bit dizzy and fell to the floor. Ro dashed and picked her up.

"Are you okay?" she exclaimed concerned.

"Not really," Mystic groaned.  
"I feel like I've pulled an all-nighter."

"You need rest," Safiya told her.

"I'm scared to sleep, though," she whimpered.  
"What if the nightmare comes back?"

"We'll stay in the room with you," Matt assured her.

Ro and Safiya agreed and Mystic stumbled over to the bed. 

"We should still go talk to Nora," Mystic groaned.  
"I feel like she'd know something we don't."

"We can bring her here," Safiya assured her.  
"But after you get some rest."

Mystic tried to shut her eyes and go to sleep, but the fear of the returning nightmare made it difficult. Even the very thought of going back with the Cursed God was enough to make Mystic shiver in fright. What the hell did she do to attract his attention? That was the question that she asked herself every single day, ever since she let this Cursed God roam free about the online archive. But no matter how many times she asked, Mystic felt like she was never going to get an answer. 

* * *

What seemed like days later, she awoke from her slumber, still trembling in fright. 

“Are you okay?” Ro asked her concerned.

“Not really,” Mystic sighed.  
“I think I had another nightmare.”

“You think?” Matt exclaimed confused.  
“You mean, you’re not sure if it was a nightmare?”

“No, I’m not,” she shook her head.  
“Part of me kinda liked it. I think I’m going crazy.”

“Maybe you’re just confused,” Ro suggested kindly.  
“Everything’s been getting crazy with all of this anyway, so it’s probably not surprising."

Hearing this, Mystic huddled into a ball and trembled.

"This is real" she gasped.  
"This is real, and it's all my fault."

"It's not your fault," Safiya assured her.  
"You didn't know what you were getting yourself in to."

"But I should have!" Mystic snapped angry at herself.  
"I'm not as naive as people claim I am. It would be better if you'd just left me in the forest for the Cursed God to take me. I mean, it seems like I'm the only one he wants. If you sacrifice me, I won't be a burden to you. I'll be his problem."

"Where is all of this negative talk about yourself coming from?" Matt asked sadly.

"It's true. Admit it! I'm the burden. If I was more careful, none of this would've happened!"

"You're not a burden," Ro assured her, giving her a hug and rubbing her back.  
"Please, don't ever tell yourself otherwise."

"We need you," Safiya told her.  
"Especially after the mishap with the laser. If you fall into the Cursed God's hands, then none of us are safe."

That's when Mystic remembered.

"Nora. Liza. We need to talk to them," she gasped.  
"They might know something we don't."

She turned to Safiya and begged with her eyes.

"C'mon, I had some rest like you asked. Please?"

She gave her best doe eyes. Safiya sighed. They kind of reminded her of Ro.

"Okay, I'll get them."

* * *

A few moments went by after Safiya had gone out to retrieve Nora and Liza. Nora had finished her detox, so she was free from the parasites, which had fallen out of the victims' head and retrieved by Matthew Haag in the hopes of creating a sort of vaccine to protect against the parasites.

Finally she returned with the two in question.

"How are you holding up?" Liza asked Mystic kindly as they entered the room.

"Not really sure," Mystic groaned.  
"Kinda feel like I'm going insane."

"I don't understand why you guys need me," Nora laughed awkwardly.  
"I mean, I write fanfiction and makes videos."

"So do I," Mystic countered matter-of-factly.  
"We're even. I figured that maybe you might've been visited by the Cursed God before. Perhaps he had made any sort of advances on you like he's been doing with me."

"Advances?" Nora exclaimed confused, before shaking her head.  
"Thankfully, no. Unfortunately, he pushed me into a state of guilt because of the novelization of season 3. Writing their deaths have been taking a toll on me."

"I would imagine so," Mystic replied bitterly.

It wasn't fair. Why her? Why not someone better-known? She was just a girl who happened to get into this fandom and come up with this idea. Nora was one of the top in the fandom. And yet she wasn't being targeted to be married to the primary villain of this damn story!

"So was that ALL he did to you?"

"He wanted me to write some things for him. He didn't say what."

"How terrible," Mystic sighed apathetically, rolling her eyes.

"Look," Nora replied firmly.  
"If the only reason you wanted me in here was to belittle my struggle---"

"Yes, because YOU'RE the one struggling SO MUCH," Mystic snapped back.  
"You're struggling over writer's guilt. Big fucking deal! Be thankful that's all he's done to you."

"Like you have it worse--!"

"Actually, I fucking do! You're not the one who's being pursued by his dark ass. I even tried committing suicide to escape him, but he's not gonna let me die!"

"ENOUGH!" Safiya snapped.  
"Both of you! This isn't the time to argue."

"Um," Liza piped up.  
"About that. I, uh, kinda have some good news and some bad news."

Everyone turned towards Liza who was looking down at the floor anxiously.

"What's the good news?" Matt wondered.

"Well, the good news is that when I was out getting my writer, I found out some information after a run-in with the Cursed God and his crew."

"And the bad news?" Nora gulped.

Twiddling with her fingers, Liza tried to figure out how to phrase it. 

"That's.......kinda what the info is about. See, uh, Nicholas.......you know, that Carnival Master dude.......he........kinda, sorta, maybe.......possibly.......wants to......marry Nora."


	15. Partially filler and shit, someone's gotta get sterilized

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> YEET.

Silence settled throughout the room for a few moments. Wringing her hands anxiously, Liza stared at the group, worried about how they'd take the news. Finally Nora was the first was to speak up.

"I'm sorry," she laughed.  
"I think I misheard you. I thought you said that the Carnival Master wants to marry me."

"No, you heard right," Liza assured her regretfully.  
"That was what one of the parasites was supposed to do to you; make you fall for him."

"You're kidding," Nora lamented.  
"I thought I'd be safe from that!"

"Oh yeah, another part of the parasite was that Safiya and you would vie for his affections."

This time it was Safiya's turn to be personally shocked. 

"What?"

"Yeah, I dunno why, but he seems to want you two to duke it out. I think he sent a parasite your way as well."

"Is that what I've been feeling in my head?" Safiya mumbled to herself.

This caused the group to fall silent again.

"You had a parasite inside of you this whole time," Matt fumed.  
"And only now did you decide to bring it up?"

"I didn't want to worry the rest of you," she asserted.  
"My priority lies in the safeties of Mystic and the other writers."

"Yeah, well, they're not gonna be safe if that parasite is interfering with your brain. It's a good thing you tested for high mental resistance, but I'm worried about how long it'll hold out. You need to get to detox before it takes over, preferably right now!"

Liza grabbed Safiya, but she jerked back.

"I'm fine," she snapped. 

Shocked, Matt punched a button nearby. Moments later, Calliope, Alison, and other SAE agents had arrived.

"What's going on?" Katsumi exclaimed.

"Safiya may have had a parasite in her head for sometime," Matt explained firmly.  
"She's already showing attempts to resist detox."

Meanwhile Calliope had her hands out, palms facing Safiya, her eyes closed.

"Uh, Calliope, what are you---?" Mystic began.

"Hush, child," she said softly.  
"This requires complete concentration."

Mystic kept looking back and forth between Safiya and Calliope, wondering just what the hell Calliope was doing. Why weren't any of the agents trying to subdue her? Why wasn't Safiya trying to get away? But moments later, her questions were answered. Safiya dropped to the floor with a thud. Or rather she would have, if Ro hadn't panicked and caught her just before she hit the floor. Gently Ro set her head resting on the metal floor while Roanoke rushed over to her side. Taking out a strange device, he turned on a light and slowly waved it over Safiya's head. All of a sudden, they heard a loud, quick beeping noise. 

"She's tested positive," he announced.  
"Thankfully her high mental resistance has kept it at bay; on top of it, the parasite's been in there less than 72 hours."

"Then we'll need to get her to detox quickly," Alison nodded.  
"Katsumi, you and Roanoke get her to the detox quarantine."

"Wait!" Mystic gasped as Katsumi and Roanoke carried her out.  
"She's unconscious. Won't the parasite act faster that way?"

"No," Alison assured her.  
"This type of parasite works better when awake."

"Then why wasn't I knocked out?" 

"Your parasites worked opposite," Calliope explained.  
"They work best when the victim is unconscious."

"I'm kinda confused," Mystic admitted after trying to make sense of it.  
"Don't parasites work, relatively, the same way?"

Alison shook her head.

"The easiest way to tell if the victim needs sedation for detox," she continued.  
"Is if they demonstrated aggression or not."

"Now that I think about it," Nora recalled.  
"I did feel much angrier after I felt something invade my mind. It led me to resisting Gabbie until she tranquilized me."

"Which is exactly what we've trained everyone here to do," Jael said.  
"If someone displays aggression and resists attempts to rescue or arrest them, the best method is to tranquilize them. That slows down the amount of conscious brain activity that the parasite is fueled by."  
  
"On the opposite end of the spectrum," Alison picked up.  
"Mystic, did you feel any type of aggression when you were infected?"

The girl in question pondered over this.

"Uh, no, actually," she admitted.  
"On the contrary, I felt blissful, tired, at peace, mostly tired."

"Precisely. That type of parasite feeds off of subconscious brain activity. If paired with a sleeper, it's more effective."

"Now that I remember, I DID feel like there was more than one bug-like thing inside of my mind."

"That was no coincidence. With that new parasite, pairing it with a sleeper drastically speeds up the process of conversion."

"Well then, it's good that they got both of them out of me. But now I have to ask, Calliope. What exactly were you doing with Safiya?"

"Well," Calliope explained.  
"It's somewhat like mind control, I suppose, is the simplest way to explain it. Once things have calmed down, I can explain it more thoroughly."

"Calliope's really good at it," Liza vouched.  
"She tends to use it on people who are having panic attacks. She says rest relaxes the mind."

"Did she ever use it on you?" Nora wondered.

"A few times," Liza answered.

Soon, Katsumi and Roanoke returned.

"Safiya's safely quarantined and being detoxed," Katsumi announced.  
"It shouldn't take longer than a few hours. However Roanoke and I will stay with Miss Hanna to monitor her until the parasite falls out of her ear."

"Wait," Liza exclaimed.  
"I heard there's a possibility Ro might have a parasite coming her way."

"I don't have to worry too much," she shrugged.  
"Most parasites are destroyed by the invisible force field surrounding our sanctuary."

"Bold move," Liza remarked.  
"All things considered."

"What do you mean?" Mystic wondered.

"Some parasites are being developed," Matt clarified.  
"That are more immune to the forcefield."

"I usually stay in the bunker," Ro added.  
"Mostly the kitchen. Though I do like to be in the upper part. I mean, I can always take a detox pill if it's like a party or something."

"But what if they hear us?" Mystic gasped.

"Sound-proof," Matt piped up.  
"The forcefield is mostly sound proof."

The rest of the society left to do whatever and Mystic began to think that maybe things would turn out alright.


	16. Perhaps I Am Just a Self-Sabotaging Lil Bitch: The Musical.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Perhaps I Am Just a Self-Sabotaging Lil Bitch: The Musical," is a non-award-winning, autobiographical musical written by ETNMystic. Songs in this musical include such classics as:  
> 1\. "Golly Gee, Look at That, I Fucked Up Again."  
> 2\. "What the Fuck Do I Say in a Social Situation?"  
> 3\. "I Am Literal Trash (Performed Live in a Dumpster and Featuring Creatures Made of Actual Trash)."  
> 4\. "Ew. What the Hell is That Thing in the Mirror? Oh Wait. That's Just My Face."  
> 5\. "Reasons Why I Think My Friends Secretly Hate Me (Featuring Anxiety and Depression)."  
> 6\. "Golly Gee, Look at That, I Fucked Up Again (Reprise Featuring the Cursed God)."  
> 7\. "Me (Feat. The Trashcan)."  
> 8\. "Me (Feat. The Trashcan) (Reprise)."  
> 9\. "This Is A Big Fucking Mood."  
> 10\. "Why Am I Like This?"  
> and of course,  
> 11\. "Perhaps I Am Just a Self-Sabotaging Lil Bitch."  
> And more!

Days later, most of the writers had been collected and detoxed. The sanctuary was staying strong. Ro had gone through an emergency prevention detox, as there was one that did slip through the forcefield and into her mind. Mystic was also starting to feel more at ease, now hopeful that things would die down soon. 

In her new bedroom in the bunker, she rested and read, singing a little tune as she did. It was a Friday afternoon and that night, there was to be a party, to celebrate the agents retrieving the last of the known ETN writers, with a talent show. On a whim, she'd signed up to sing.

"Why do I do this to myself?" she sang angry at herself for even picking up the pen. 

She'd tried to take her name off of the list, but either because of several people having heard her in passing or perhaps it was coincidence, whenever she tried to take her name off, someone would "just happen" to be there and pull her away from it to do some arbitrary task of some sort. Rosanna, Safiya after her detox, Matt, Liza, Colleen, Gabbie, even Nora who she was surprised even heard her sing. Their rooms weren't too close together.

"I don't know why I signed up," she sang.  
"I'm not gonna stack up to the likes of Rosanna Pansino and Colleen Ballinger and Matthew Patrick and Safiya Nygaard and Gabbie Hanna. Especially Colleen Ballinger. Because that bitch studied vocal performance in college. And Rosanna Pansino's been trained in opera."

Generally, she thought she was just an okay singer, but people kept saying she was better than that. Possibly, somewhere deep in her mind, she thought she was as good of a singer as everyone said and perhaps that's she why she kept signing up for shit like this.

"Or perhaps I just subconsciously really like to sabotage myself," she sang.  
"Perhaps I am just a self-sabotaging lil bitch."

Angrily she threw her book on the floor, before apologizing to it, slowly turned to look at her trashcan, and pointed at it.

"Me," she said dryly.

Then she turned onto her stomach and pressed her face into the covers of her bed before taking an arm, raising it above her, and pointing to her head.

"This is a big fucking mood," she exclaimed, her voice muffled through the covers.

After lying there for several hours, she felt someone tap her shoulder. 

"Hey," Safiya exclaimed.  
"You ready for the party?"

"I'm not gonna go," she groaned through the sheets.  


"Why?" Ro's voice gasped concerned.  
"Are you sick? Are you hurt?"

"My voice is hoarse."

"You know, we can literally hear you talk, right?" Safiya sighed in a "are-you-that-fucking-stupid" kind of way.  
"And you're talking just fine."

"Yeah, you know, I tried to spend the past few hours coming up with excuses as to why I couldn't go, but I basically just gave up after I took a nap."

"So then why can't you go to the party?" Ro wondered.

"I mean, I CAN. I just REALLY don't wanna go."

"Are you nervous about the talent show?" 

Mystic gave this some consideration.

"I mean, that's a part of it. Like, 100% of it. And an additional 100% of it is because I'm an introvert who can't make small talk to save her life."

"That's 200%," Safiya pointed out.

"I'm twice the nervous, anxious, self-depricating wreck any human will ever be!"

"If you don't stand up and let us help you get ready for the party," Safiya warned.  
"Ro and I are gonna have to tickle you."

"That'll end well," Mystic scoffed sarcastically.

All of a sudden, she felt two pairs of hands tickling her sides. Biting her tongue, she tried to squirm away, but the two girls had a strong grip.

"Are we gonna have to chase you around for this?" Safiya groaned.

"Probably," Ro giggled.

When Mystic finally broke loose, she dashed out of her room and through the bunker as Safiya and Ro were on her trail, a la _Benny Hill_ style. 

"I am not in good shape," she huffed after running for about two minutes. 

Suddenly, she heard their footsteps closing in and she whirled around for a hiding place. Spotting an open door she ducked inside and quietly shut it. After hearing their footsteps pass, she turned around and breathed a sigh of relief until she locked eyes with Matthew Patrick, who had been waiting expectantly for her.

"You're not planning to skip out the talent show, are you?" he asked, smirking knowingly.

"Oh," she gasped as she felt behind her back for the doorknob.  
"See, like, I would go, except I just remembered that I......have.....to.....run." 

She dashed out the room as Matt tried to grab her. He fell to the floor with a thud.

"Ro! Saf!" he giggled as she scrambled on out.  
"I found her!"

Mystic picked up her speed and kept running from the iconic trio, when she spied another open room. Part of her mind thought _safety_ and the other part of her mind thought _don't be a fucking idiot sandwich it's a trap._ For some reason, the second part of her mind sounded like Gordon Ramsay. And Gordon Ramsay was generally a reliable source for most things. Except pineapple on pizza. She didn't give a shit if he thought it was bad. It's her fucking pizza, Gordon! You can go police your own!

"Oh hell no," she huffed.  
"I am NOT falling for that twice."

"Aw, c'mon!" Liza exclaimed disappointedly, peeking out.  
"I had a whole thing planned out to say."

"My name Jeff," Jeff exclaimed peeking out. 

"Yello!" Helga exclaimed with a goat.

"Nope!" Mystic shouted as the group was catching up. 

Dashing off like lightning, Mystic remembered that there was a U-turn coming up. She decided she was gonna go one way, take that U-turn, and then dash back around. 

Darting to the left, she ran for sometime until she came to the U-turn. Hiding behind there, she waited for the group to pass by. She continued on when she saw the bottom of a faux fur coat. Stopping herself, knowing that it was Colleen, she quietly backtracked and raced back.

"There she is!" Helga yelled.

"MY NAME JEFF!" Jeff cried.

Hearing this, Colleen sprinted out from the U-turn and joined the group. Mystic noped on forward when she saw a stairwell. Without hesitation, she bolted down the stairwell, only to see Gabbie lock eyes with her from the bottom.

"Going somewhere?" she smirked knowingly with her arms folded. 

"Hell, probably," Mystic answered quickly as her eyes darted around the stairwell.

"You're NOT getting out of this so easily. I'm gonna make sure you sing in that talent show," Gabbie scoffed.

"Try me, bitch!" Mystic exclaimed as she booked it back up the stairs.

Gabbie immediately followed and Mystic knew that she fucked up, as Gabbie worked out pretty regularly, so who knows how good of a runner she is?

Luckily the others had passed her. So Mystic ran back to the place where she thought they wouldn't look. The place where you'd have to be pretty bold to go back to. The place where the chase began.

Mystic slid into her room, locked the door, and dove into her dark closet. 

"Phew," she breathed a sigh of relief as she stared straight ahead at the closed closet door.  
"I think I lost them."

[this next conversation is quick in response and both sound serious, like a serious-sounding Abbott and Costello routine with some inflection, but not too dynamic. Both of them stare straight at the closet door in front of them the entire conversation]

"Lost who?" another voice asked seriously.

"These YouTubers, and these two weird characters, and a goat," Mystic replied seriously like a secret agent.  
"They're trying to get me to sing in a talent show tonight."

"Why?"

Mystic: "I signed up and they kept me from taking my name off."

"So then why are you running away from them?"

Mystic: "Because I regret everything."

"Mood."

Mystic: "Same."

"How many of them are there?"

Mystic: "Safiya, Ro, Matt, Liza, Jeff, Helga, her goat, Colleen, and Gabbie. Though there's another."

"Really?" 

Mystic: "Yeah. Nora. She tried to stop me from taking my name off as well, but I haven't seen her."

Nora: "What if I told you that I'm Nora?"

Mystic: "You're Nora?"

Nora: "Yes, I'm Nora."

Mystic: "You mean, you're Nora and you're sitting next to me?"

Nora: "I'm Nora and I'm sitting next to you."

Mystic: "You're Nora and you're sitting next to me in my closet?"

Nora: "I'm Nora and I'm sitting next to you in your closet."

Mystic "In my dark closet?"

Nora: "In your dark closet."

Mystic: "I was wondering when I was gonna see you."

Nora: "Me too."

Mystic: "It is pretty dark in here, isn't it?"

Nora: "Yeah, it's pretty dark in here."

Mystic: "When did you get in my closet?"

Nora: "I got into your closet when Ro and Saf came to get you."

Mystic: "So you all had this whole thing planned out?"

Nora: "Yes, we all had this whole thing planned out."

Mystic: "When did you start planning this?"

Nora: "We started planning this when you first tried to take your name off of the list."

Mystic: "So about five days ago?"

Nora: "Yes, about five days ago."

Mystic: "Did you get anyone else in on this?"

Nora: "Yes, we got Nikita, Manny, Teala, Roi, Joey, Justine, Sierra, Matt Haag, Lele, Calliope, Lauren, Alex, Alison, Tana, Jetpack Girl, and Andrea Russett in on this."

Mystic: "That's a lot of people."

Nora: "Yes, that is a lot of people."

Mystic: "Why did they agree to help with this?"

Nora: "They agreed to help with this because Ro and Safiya told them about how amazing you sound when you sing."

Mystic: "I sound subpar."

Nora: "They beg to differ."

Mystic: "Where are they hiding?"

Nora: "Nikita and Manny are sweeping the corridors down here, Joey and Justine are covering the upper-bunker, Sierra and Matt Haag are in the detox lab, Lele and Calliope are guarding the front door, Lauren and Alex are taking the dining hall, Alison and Tana are in the recovery room, and Jetpack Girl and Andrea Russett are taking the infirmary."

Mystic: "What about Teala and Roi?"

Nora: "Teala and Roi are making out in the bathoom."

Mystic: "Is anyone surprised about that?"

Nora: "No one's surprised about that." 

Mystic: "So are you gonna chase me now?"

Nora: "Yes, I'm gonna chase you now."

Mystic: "Will you give me a head start?"

Nora: "I'll give you a ten-second head start."

Mystic: "Okay. Thanks."

Nora: "No problem."

(I MIGHT ADD MORE TO THIS CHAPTER SO KEEP AN EYE OUT BUT I'M KINDA TIRED RN AND I DON'T WANNA LOSE THIS AND I WANT ICE CREAM AND CHOCOLATE AND A SHOWER).


	17. Perhaps I Am Just a Self-Sabotaging Lil Bitch: The Musical Part Deux

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Might make a part 3. idk.

After that enthralling conversation in the closet, Mystic nearly broke both doors as she bolted out of her room, counting to ten in her head. All of a sudden, a flash of neon pink sprung towards her. Mystic reacted quickly, yeeting her back against the wall as Nikita Dragun fell to the floor.

"Manny!" Nikita called as she scrambled to grab at Mystic's feet.  
"I found her! Hurry."

"I'm coming, bitch!" he yelled.

Nikita nearly had her hands on Mystic's feet. A thought crossed her mind.

"Sorry, Nikita," Mystic whimpered before taking her foot and stomping down on Nikita's fingers.

"FUCK!" Nikita screamed as she retracted her hand.

Mystic dodged off and around the corner towards another stairwell that led upwards AND downwards. If Nora was telling the truth, then she knew Justine and Joey would be in the upper bunker. But she was pretty sure she could take them. However she'd have to try to avoid Lele and Calliope. Who the fuck knew if she could actually take them on?

As she rushed upstairs, Mystic went over where each place was that Magic had mentioned. 

_Let's see. Teala and Roi could be in any bathroom. No doubt I'll probably find Stella hanging around there. The dining hall is on the lower floor. I was just on the floor that the detox room was on. And the infirmary and recovery room are right next to each other._

The second she reached the top of the stairs, she came face to face with Justine. 

"Going somewhere?" Justine asked innocently, tilting her head as Mystic tried to sidestep her.

"Hell, probably," Mystic replied.

Justine tried to grab ahold of her, but Mystic slid out of the way as Justine fell to the ground. 

"Joey, grab her!" she yelled. 

Joey ran ahead of Justine as Mystic darted around a corner to find an elevator at the end of a hall. Dashing towards it, she quickly smashed a button multiple times and the elevator door opened up. Luckily it was empty, so she rolled right in and began to press the button for the basement. 

"Not so fast!" Joey called out as he rounded the corner.

_Shit._

Panicking, Mystic quickly and repeatedly slammed her finger on the button. The doors were beginning to close slowly. Joey was nearing her, but thank her lucky stars the door was closing. Just as they shut, she heard a thud as Joey's face planted into the door. 

As she rode down, she heard elevator music playing. Swaying along with it, she felt relieved that she had a few moments to catch her breath. Mystic felt like she had done more running in these past five to ten minutes than she had in her whole life. 

_I had BETTER be a few pounds lighter by the time I'm done with all of it._

Once the elevator opened to the basement, she knew she was safe for a bit. That is, if the rest of them didn't find her first. The dining was a little ways away from the elevator. 

All of a sudden, she heard footsteps come down the stairs. 

"Mystic?" Safiya called in a sing-song voice.  
"I know you're here somewhere." 

As quietly as she could, Mystic rushed off towards the dining hall. But she ended up tripping and hitting the metal floor with a bang.

_Shit!_

Just as she feared, Safiya had heard the noise and darted around the corner. Mystic hurried to get to her feet, but Safiya grabbed her by the ankle.

"Just give it up, Mystic," Safiya told her.  
"You're outnumbered."

"That's what you think!" she exclaimed determined to get out of this.

Kicking at Safiya, she managed to scramble loose and bring herself back up to a standing position before running off into the dining hall.

"There she is!" Lauren exclaimed. 

Without even thinking, Mystic darted over tables, trying to get to the other exit. Just as she reached it, Alex got ahold of her and she slumped, going boneless.

"No, don't you go boneless on me!" he laughed.  
"Don't you go boneless on me!"

He was about to pick her up when she swooped out of his hands and out the door. With Lauren, Safiya, AND Alex on her trail downstairs along with Magic, Ro, Nikita, Liza, Colleen, Helga, Jeff, a goat (for some reason), Manny, Gabbie, Joey, AND Justine trying to find her on the upper floor, she WAS outnumbered, but she wasn't about give up just yet. 

That is, until Alex got a firm grip on her. 

"Gotcha!" he exclaimed joyfully as Safiya and Lauren caught up to him.  
"No getting out of this."

Sighing, Mystic bowed her head.

"You're right."

Leading them to the elevator, Safiya pressed the button to go up as Alex let go of her. Just as the door was about to close, though....

"Psych!" Mystic laughed as she slid out of the elevator.  
"It's a fake-out. You were fooled! HA HA HA HA!"

The three of them tried to scramble out, but Mystic had slid out of there just before it closed. Thinking quickly, Mystic scrambled up a stairwell on the other side of the bunker. 

"There she is!" Ro squealed.

This was automatic now, running from them. So she blasted off towards the detox lab with everyone else behind her. As soon as she ducked inside, she locked the door and slid down to the floor, waiting for the group to pass her. Once they did, she let out a sigh of relief. That is, until she turned around to find Matt Haag and Sierra waiting for her.

"Look who came to dinner," Matt sniffed.

"That doesn't even make sense," Mystic exclaimed; her mind was confusion. ~~(WHY IS THIS ONE KANSAS BUT THIS ONE IS NOT ARKANSAS? AMERICA EXPLAIN EXPLAIN WHAT DO YOU MEAN ARKANSAS?)~~

"Liza thought it up, okay? The point is, you're not getting away from us," Sierra argued.

Mystic's hand reached for the lock behind her. Flipping it open, she yeeted herself out and slammed it behind her before running off like a cheetah. Stupidly though, she ran into the recovery room. And there was a connecting door between the infirmary and recovery room.

"Well," Alison smirked.  
"We were expecting you, Mystic."

"Look, just cut out the fucking chase already," Tana sighed.  
"Why are you having them run all over?"

"Because one, I regret everything," Mystic explained.  
"And two, I like the adrenaline and thrill of the chase."

"Yeah, but it's tiring," Andrea Russett exclaimed as she and Jetpack Girl came in from the infirmary.

"Bitch," Mystic scoffed.  
"You haven't done any running yet."

"Well, how about you save us the running and just sing?" Jetpack Girl suggested.

"How about no?" Mystic exclaimed as she whooshed out the door. 

Mystic, deciding 'fuck it,' opted to finally tackle the front door. She tried to jet through it, but soon Lele and Calliope had a hold on her unzipped jacket.

"You're NOT getting out of this one," Lele told her.

"That's what you think," Mystic scoffed as Calliope prepared to raise her hands like she did with Safiya. 

Wiggling out of the jacket, Mystic ran for her life around the bunker and then through a back door. There was one more place she could try. 

Going back to the dining room, she wriggled into and down the trash pipe. Falling into a, thankfully-clean, dumpster, Mystic found she was not alone, but rather in the company of the queen of trash.

"I think I did more running in those last twenty minutes than I did in my life before this," she huffed as she looked at the queen of trash.

"Can't relate," Shane Dawson replied dryly as he munched on a five-day old Taco Bell burrito.


	18. Okay, fine.

"Why are you so scared to sing anyway?" Shane asked Mystic after they sat for a while.

Mystic shrugged.

"I dunno."

With this Shane gave her an incredulous look and she sighed.

"It's this weird fear I have of someone kidnapping me, putting me in a cage, and forcing me to sing like a canary."

It took Shane a little time to process all of that.

"That is.......an incredibly specific fear," he remarked.

"I know. And I've had friends who have joked with me about it; you know saying that they would kidnap me. Though one did look up my address, so I'm not sure if she was joking or not."

"I mean, you're not in a cage now, are you?"

"No, but someone else is coming after me. Oh, and the Cursed God is as well."

"Who's the other someone else?"

"All of those people chasing after me. Safiya, Matt, Ro, you know?"

"Oh. Right. Say, where are they anyway?"

"I dunno. I guess they don't see me as trash, but like."

She gestured around the dumpster.

"Me," she and Shane said at the same time.

"Oh my God. Wait. Are we like trash soulmates in this world?" Shane gasped. 

"I dunno, maybe. Do you live in here?"

"Not necessarily," he shrugged.  
"Only after they clean it out."

"But then what are you when you're not in the dumpster?"

"Trash without a home."

"That's a fucking mood if I ever---"

All of a sudden, she was cut off by a high-pitched scream getting closer.

"Listen," she gasped.  
"I think it's coming from the trash pipe."

Sure enough, a few moments later, a cute brunette hit the floor of the dumpster.

"Ro?" Shane asked as she crawled to the side.  
"What are you doing here?"

"It's not just me," she remarked.

Mystic, sensing there was more trouble, slowly started sliding towards the door.

Soon they heard another yell and then out came Matpat. 

"Is that all?" Shane asked.

"Not quite," Matt answered as he scooted over next to Ro who had, by this point, situated herself next to Mystic to keep her from escaping.

Another scream echoed through the pipe and soon Safiya appeared. She crawled over to Mystic's right and sat beside her.

"Okay, WHAT are you three doing here?" Shane asked.

"We're guarding Mystic to make sure she doesn't run while everyone else makes preparations," Safiya answered.

Mystic tried to yeet herself out of the dumpster, but Safiya and Ro grabbed onto her before she could open the lid.

"Let go of me!" she struggled, clawing at the air and hissing. 

"You signed up for this," Matt reminded her.

"I was gonna take my name off, but you guys kept me from doing that."

"There's a reason for that," Safiya told her.

All of a sudden, they heard two more yells and out came Gabbie and Colleen. 

"Oh great," Mystic groaned.  
"Do you guys REALLY want me to make everyone's ears bleed this badly?"

"Ears bleed?" Colleen exclaimed confused.  
"Girl, I've heard you sing, and everyone else needs to as well."

"You're kidding me," Mystic fumed, getting angrier at herself by the second, tears forming in her eyes.  
"No one wants to hear me screech. Not when they've got two people who've trained in opera, a pop sensation, a guy who's an angel of musical theatre, and a woman who, let's be honest, just hearing her talk is enough to entrance everyone. I'll never be able to compare to the likes of any of you!"

Curling up into a ball, Mystic tried to hold the tears back, but it was fruitless, a word which here means "there was little to no hope of her succeeding." For as Mystic tried to keep the waterworks at bay, Safiya and Ro reached out and each put a hand on her shoulder. And that was all it took for her to lose her composure. Sensing the tension, Matt joined in, putting a hand on her back. 

Sometimes when tragedy strikes a loved one, such as when they lose a beloved family member or discover that their house was destroyed in a seemingly-spontaneous fire, they will experience an outburst of emotion, which can shock those around them, and those around them are often left speechless, not because they don't care to say anything. They simply are unsure of what to say. In this instance, it was not tragedy that struck Mystic, at least not yet, but rather her own insecurities had caught up to her once again. And as with sudden outbursts of emotion, Gabbie, Shane, Colleen, Matt, Rosanna, and Safiya were all unsure of what they could say to Mystic to make her feel better. That is, until Colleen had a thought. Or rather a phrase, comprised of three words, which led the rest of them to follow forth with trying to convince Mystic that she was, in fact, good enough to perform.

"Beauty is subjective."

It was Gabbie who took the next step, following up her point.

"Colleen's right. You probably think you sound terrible because you've spent so much time around your voice. So while you may think you're just okay, the rest of us think you sound lovely."

"After a while, you'll get tired of it," Mystic mumbled.

"I doubt it," Safiya assured her.  
"And anyway, one performance will not make us hate your voice. And as for comparing to us, you don't need to meet our standards. Meet your own. Do it for yourself."

Trembling, Mystic looked up, giving Safiya the doe eyes. 

"Really?" 

Safiya nodded.

"And if you're still nervous," Matt assured her.  
"We'll be there to support you."

"Promise?"

"Promise," all six of them agreed.

After a few more minutes of gather her bearings, Mystic stood up and climbed up the dumpster, ready to take it head on. 


	19. Troubles in Paradise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After getting ready for the party, Mystic soon realizes that the talent show may just be the least of her worries.

If you've ever gone to a dance or ever read a fairytale about a princess, you've probably come across an expression, and that expression is "the belle of the ball." It means that someone is the most beautiful person at a dance, specifically a royal dance where there's likely a prince or princess waiting to marry this lovely person. I use this phrase because that is the only phrase that can describe just what Safiya, Colleen, Gabbie, Rosanna, Nikita, Lauren, and Manny had in mind for Mystic, hoping that highlighting the beauties they see in her would help her feel more confident when it was her turn to perform.

"Okay, sweetie pie," Nikita smiled, a bit too widely.  
"Let's make you the belle of the ball."

Sufficed to say, Nikita was still a bit peeved about Mystic stomping on her fingers and she could sense it.

"I'm sorry for stomping on your fingers, Nikita, but it was in the heat of the moment and I felt like I had no choice."

Nikita, while considering her inner muse to be a strong-willed dragon, was not immune to Mystic's doe eyes after she made her apology.

"You are so lucky you are adorable," she whispered harshly as they led her into the bathroom. 

"The bitch is right, though," Manny assured her.  
"Making you the belle of the ball would really help your confidence."

"Can you make me skinnier?" Mystic hoped.  
"I'm like a Lego figure. I have width on both sides."

"Girl, you're a thicc bish," Nikita told her.  
"And thicc is sexy."

"I don't think making her sexy is going to be so helpful," Colleen piped up.  
"Making her look ethereal and more beautiful might."

"But plus-sized women are often portrayed as outspoken and sexy, as opposed to cute and quiet," Mystic pointed out.  
"And yet I don't have the face for outspoken and sexy."

"You can be plus-sized and beautiful and cute," Ro reminded her.

"You're petite, though."

"Yes, and while that means I'm easier to pick up and twirl around, you being plus-sized means there's more of you to hug!"

As she said this, Ro wrapped her arms around Mystic, enveloping her in a hug. 

"I think someone can be plus-sized and adorable," Lauren told her.  
"I mean, you're living proof of that."

At this, Mystic's cheeks turned a bright shade of red. 

"I agree, and I'm pretty sure everyone else here does as well," Gabbie spoke up, followed by the group nodding in agreement.  
"But if we wanna make her look even more beautiful, we'll need to start now."

* * *

By the time they were finished with Mystic's transformation, which in their time took roughly an hour or so but takes no time at all when one is reading about it, the party was just getting warmed up in the tent they had set up in the outdoor portion of the sanctuary. While most YouTubers are normally ones to take on the "casual Friday" look, meaning that they would usually sit around wearing sweat pants or casual clothes with regular makeup, tonight they all agreed to don a more formal look. For it was a special occasion; saving these writers had been their first successful mission and while there were still more agents heading back, a Friday night was agreed upon to be the perfect night for a formal event.

Tables had been set out inside of the tent, circular ones with chairs for people to sit at and conversate ~~(I think it's converse. what? just say talk)~~ with one another. Another table had been set up at the back of the tent where a variety of snacks, treats, drinks, and dishes were waiting to be taken, masticated, a word which here means "chewed upon until they were a pile of broken pieces inside of one's mouth," and then digested by the fellow agents and writers. Outside of the tent, there was a campfire, which Jesse Wellens was just about finished with setting up once the first few guests had arrived. The plan was to roast marshmallows as a fun little activity just after the talent show, which was slated to take place at the halfway point of their party. As a little surprise, the Society Against Evil had decided to hop between times and retrieve a few YouTubers who specialized in music to help liven up their get-together. 

At the very front of the tent was a fair-sized impromptu stage set up for the talent show. The Society had also recruited agents who were skilled with technical equipment, as well as many who weren't, to set up the microphones, speakers, music players and lights. Just below that was a small dance floor where the agents and writers could get their groove on. Once everything was nearly finished, the guests began to arrive. 

The first to show up was Matthew Patrick, who had decided to ditch his theory wear for one evening and try on a snazzy inverted tuxedo; inverted is a word which here means "the color scheme was reversed, so instead of a tuxedo that was mostly black with some white, it was a tuxedo that was mostly white with some black." But he was not here earlier because he wanted to be early. He had another reason for being there so early, for instead of going to the dance floor or grabbing some food, Matt made a beeline for Calliope and Alison who was standing near the far side of the tent. 

"Is everything alright?" Alison asked him quietly as he approached, as his face was contorted with uncertainty.

"I'm not sure," he sighed as he shook his head.  
"There's this feeling that I've been trying to shake off. I've had it all day. I thought that helping to convince Mystic to sing would help, but I fear that I may have made things worse."

"How so?" Calliope wondered.  
"What kind of feeling is it?"

"I don't know," he whispered.  
"I just have the strangest feeling that something bad might happen tonight."

"I've had that feeling all day as well," Alison gasped somberly.  
"And so has Calliope. That's why we've asked extra agents to hang about the party."

"I didn't see any agents. All I saw were Very Finely-Dressed people that I didn't recognize."

"Exactly," Alison replied.  
"We don't want to arouse any anxieties just yet, which is why we're having them blend in with the other guests."

"Do you think he could break in?"

"If he took control of any of the agents still out there," Calliope sighed regretfully.  
"If so, they would almost surely---"

"Shh!" Alison shushed.

Whirling around Matt saw that other guests were arriving. 

"If anyone brings them up," Alison told them.  
"You need to pretend that you don't know who they are or why they're here. If anyone gets too curious, one of you will have to create a Vafrous Febrifuge Distraction so that the panic will wane."

"That almost sounds like an oxymoron," Matt remarked.

"But you understand what you need to do, correct?"

Nodding, Matt gave a small salute as he sat down at a table, trying to shake away the feeling of dread that was gripping the inside of his stomach and chest.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, most of the guests had shown up. Matt was now at a table with several of the writers, including Magic and Bird, who were barraging him with Various Fastigiate Debates, such as which character was most robbed and which ship was the best. Under normal circumstances, these conversations wouldn't feel as pointless, as Matthew had an interest with internet culture and the debates surrounding Various Fandom Discourse. But the anxiety in his stomach was too much for him to bare under the current circumstances, and it wasn't just because of the possibility of something terrible happening, but also because Ro, Safiya, Nikita, Manny, Gabbie, Lauren, Colleen, and Mystic were still not there. So as Bird and Magic argued over Mattny and Roila, Matt tentatively tapped the tips of his fingers on the tabletop, as he waited for what seemed to be hours, until finally Manny arrived in a spiffing emerald tuxedo. 

"Where are the rest of them?" he whispered to Manny when he approached Matt.

"They're almost here," Manny assured him.  
"It took a bit of time with all of us."

As Manny promised, Nikita, Gabbie, Lauren, and Colleen entered the tent all wearing fancy and quite lovely dresses. Soon following were his two best friends, Ro and Safiya, also wearing stunning gowns. All of a sudden, Lindsay Sterling switched the song she had been playing on her violin to something more graceful and elegant. And there was a good reason for that change.

Mystic almost seemed to glide inside of the tent in a stunning white princess gown with long, but flexible sleeves that flowed on the very ends. Her hair had been curled and done in a royal up-do and a tiara sat gently upon her head. The tent almost seemed to light up as she emerged from the waning sunset into the glow of the tent-light. In spite of all of the beauty, Mystic still felt rather shy, and tried to keep her head down. But Nikita reached under her chin and gently pulled it back up.

"Keep your head up, princess," she reminded her with a kind smile.  
"Your tiara is falling."

"Thank you," she beamed.

"No, I mean your tiara's really falling and that one's very expensive and fragile."

"Oh!" Mystic gasped as she readjusted the crown.  
"Sorry."

The phrase "incognito" is a rather odd one, and it describes someone who has concealed their identity for a certain purpose, such as to hide one's true feelings or to disguise their identity because they are on the run from the authorities who are pursuing them for a murder that they did not commit. Going incognito can often work to one's advantage. But sometimes when someone has had experience with being deceived by others, going incognito won't help because they'll often find out that you are not what you present yourself to be. Likewise Mystic, while having some trouble reading others, had also been deceived by others before, which had left an impression on her. So when she and her friends were walking by the Very Finely-Dressed people to sit with Matt, Magic, Bird, and Manny, she felt a certain discomfort inside of her.

"I don't think we should be here," she whispered to Safiya.  
"I have a feeling some people are here incognito."

"You mean those Very Finely-Dressed people?" Safiya whispered in return.

"Yeah. I think something's wrong."

"Hey!" Matt bursted in on their conversation.  
"Whatcha talkin' about?"

Mystic did not usually like to lie. Her philosophy was that lies were like fires; you need to keep feeding it for it to stay believable, if you feed it too much it will grow, and when in the hands of the wrong person, they can become deadly. But she also knew that sometimes you have to fight fire with fire. In this case, fight distraction with falsehood.

"Nothing much," she shrugged.  
"Mostly just about how our Very Fancy Dresses turned out. Say, Ro. You wanna come with me and Safiya to get some food?"

"But I'm--" she began.

In response, Mystic made a signal with her hand, indicating that this was an emergency.

"concerned that there won't be enough for everyone else."

"It's okay," Matt encouraged Ro.  
"You made them, so you should get first pick."

Safiya, Ro, and Mystic stood up and went over to the food table where they huddled and informed Ro of Mystic's suspicions.

"I feel like those Very Finely-Dressed people that we don't recognize are incognito," Mystic voiced quietly.  
"Something's wrong, very wrong." 

"Well, how can they be incognito if we don't know them?" Ro wondered.

"A lot of people you don't know can be incognito. All they have to do is present something other than themselves. They could be spies from the Cursed God."

"But Alison and Calliope said that evil can't get inside," Safiya assured her.

"Unless they took control of one of our agents. It's possible that someone here is acting as a spy because the Cursed God hypnotized them."

"Who might it be?"

"It would have to be someone who recently returned from their mission. Tyler came back without Emo because they're apparently in a different universe. Manny and Nikita also recently returned. So did Alex and Lauren."

"There are a lot of people who've recently returned from a mission," Ro whispered.  
"And there's no way the Cursed God can take control of them all, so for all we know, we could be worrying over nothing."

"Just one agent is enough for him to sneak inside," Mystic reminded her.  
"We have to warn everyone."  
  
While they were discussing this, Matt had been listening from a distance, but when Mystic said that, he thought it was time to spill the beans, a phrase which here means "share the anxieties that he, Calliope, and Alison had been having."

"Hey," he greeted them as he swaggered up to them.  
"Can I talk to you three outside for a moment?" 

With this interruption, Mystic managed to connect the two. Frustrated, she stepped forward and confronted the detective.

"Who are those people?" she whispered harshly.  
"What are they doing here?"

"Why are you asking me? I don't know who they are."

"You were listening in on me and Safiya's conversation and interrupted us just a minute ago. Now we're discussing about warning the rest of the agents and writers and you 'coincidently' pop up out of nowhere to interrupt our conversation yet again. It's clear that you know something we don't, so I'll ask you once again; who are they?" 

"Not here," he whispered.  
"We'll need to talk outside."

He led the three of them outside and a little ways from the tent.

"They're other Society agents," he told them.  
"Calliope, Alison, and I have all been feeling that something terrible is going to happen, but we can't say for sure, so they're incognito as a precaution. We don't want to raise any alarm."

"But why wouldn't we want to be prepared for an ambush of some kind?"

"Because this is our first big accomplishment. We've been stressed for weeks; the last thing we want is to cause unnecessary panic at a party. Please, just drop it for now."

 _"Agents and Writers,"_ Joey called from a microphone.  
_"Please take your seats. The talent show is about to begin!"_

Without waiting for a response, Matt dashed back inside, hearing Joey's call. Ro and Safiya followed him. Mystic, meanwhile, could not simply drop it, as Matt had begged her. Something told her that there was a bigger reason they were here. She snuck off past the bunker and to one of the lookout towers. Throwing open the door, she climbed the stairs and up to the observation deck. Grabbing a spyglass, she opened it up and looked out towards the entrance of the agency. Scanning the area, at first, proved fruitless, as she thought that it was simply her anxiety getting the best of her. After about fifteen minutes, she was about to put away the spyglass and go back to the party when suddenly, she saw a smoky shadow in the glass. It wasn't far from the entrance and it made her shiver. Turning a dial, she zoomed in and turned on the light to discreetly illuminate her target. And what she saw made her face pale. 

* * *

_"And that was Roi playing 'Total Eclipse of the Heart' on the beer bottles."_

Mystic rushed into the tent, her heart beating at the rate of a hummingbird's just as Roi stepped off of the stage. 

"And now," Joey announced.  
"We have Mystic singing a song from _The Phantom of---_ "

"I'm not singing!" Mystic announced in a panic.  
"This party is over."

"Oh great," Nikita groaned.  
"She's already having her diva fit."

"This party needs to be over! We're all in terrible danger!"

Gasps and whispers rippled throughout the party until one agent spoke up.

"Don't be silly," he laughed, dressed in a regular tuxedo.

Mystic felt that there was something familiar about this man, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

"This sanctuary is the safest it's ever been. Nothing can get in without a key!"

"Trust me, what's coming is more than capable enough to make its way inside."

"Oh, poor little girl," the agent cooed as he stepped up to her slowly.  
"Her naive little mind has let her anxiety run away with her."

"I'm not naive," she growled.  
"I'm being serious. They're closing in!" 

"Who?" another agent asked.

"Yes, that's a very enthralling story," the agent interrupted as he closed in on her.  
"But it's time for you to sing. I've even installed a special microphone for you."

"I told you already. I'm not singing," she whispered harshly.

"I strongly suggest you do," he hissed maliciously.

"Leave her alone," Matt snapped as he, Safiya, and Ro stood up.

"Why would a Society agent act like this?" Ro wondered fearfully.

All of a sudden, there was a loud boom.

"Well," he laughed.  
"I see that another agent has returned. I'd say this calls for a toast, but first,"

Smirking, the agent turned around and pointed at a random agent.

"You," he said, pointing to Liza.  
"Go wait for them."

Shrugging, Liza stood up and headed towards the exit.

"Liza, no!" Mystic exclaimed as Liza headed towards the door.

Confused and afraid, Mystic turned back to the agent.  
  
"You're going to put us all in danger. Don't you realize that?"

To her horror, he took out a remote and pressed a button. The other agents dropped their heads for a few seconds before facing the five of them. Mystic hadn't gotten a good look of the agents' faces before, but now she met their gaze only to realize that they were not human. The agent chuckled triumphantly and maliciously.

"Oh," Calvin oozed as his mannequins approached.  
"I am WELL. AWARE of it, your majesty."

There is a phrase that best describes what you will read in just a few brief moments. That phrase is "trouble in paradise," meaning that there is stress, discontent, or tension in a blissful, happy, or peaceful situation. You might describe "trouble in paradise" when you go to the beach and find the perfect spot to sit and read a nice book in, only to find that the spot you sat in just so happens to be near the beachgoer who shakes the sand off of their towel in your direction every ten minutes. Or "trouble in paradise" might be when you're on your honeymoon in the beautiful, sunny beaches of Florida and discover one morning that your fiancé has left the hotel with only a note admitting that they only married you for your inheritance and now that they've got your credit card, they plan to withdraw every single monetary note you earned, whether it was from your allowance as a kid or from the various odd jobs that you took the summer you stayed in a small town working for a farmer in the fields where the sun beats down the hottest no matter what time of day it is. 

In this instance and these circumstances, "trouble in paradise" was likely the last phrase you'd think to describe the situation Mystic and the others were in as you were reading about this party. But, as you and Mystic just saw, I regret to inform you that this phrase strongly applies, for as Liza stood by the entrance, waiting to greet the agent coming back with their writer, what she was greeted with instead was a distant-looking Andrea Brooks.

"Andrea?" she asked concerned.  
"Are you okay?"

Andrea didn't answer. Instead she gestured for someone to enter, or rather, it was for a rather large army. Smoke slithered through the entrance along with Various Frightening Demons.

Inside of the tent, the rest of the party heard a loud roar of a monster, yelling "Where is she?" And there was, indeed, trouble in paradise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Could you tell that I binge-watched the 3rd season of ASOUE already? 
> 
> Also, aside from that last chapter, I haven't written anything since 2018. 
> 
> illgohome


	20. Sinister Seductions and Conflicting Confusions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a run-in and proposal with the Cursed God, Mystic begins to slightly reconsider her stance on the matter.

Panic is a strange emotion because of its root cause. Sometimes you may feel panic because you have an exam coming up or because you're waiting at the doctor's office. Or you may feel panic because the police have found your hideout and you're now trying to hide from their wandering and sharp gazes. On the other hand, you may also feel panic, but are unable to discern the reason for your panic; if it's constant, you may have generalized anxiety. And while Mystic had this anxiety disorder, in this particular moment, she knew the reason for her panic; the Cursed God and his army had managed to take control of one of the agents and thus managed to gain access inside of the sanctuary. 

Luckily for Mystic, she was often a quick reactor. So when Calvin reached out to take a hold of her wrist, she jumped back, inches from Rosanna, Matt, and Safiya, the last taking ahold of her upper-arms. 

"Run," the four of them gasped as they turned and ran. 

Gunshots rang out as the clowns entered, cackling menacingly, as the four of them ran and hid in the nearby bushes.

"Mystic?" Sally Slaughter cackled.  
"Where are you, cutie pie?"

The other agents had already begun to run out, taking a writer with them. The Society agents, the real ones, were already fighting tooth-and-nail with the armies. But Nicholas, meanwhile, had other plans. He approached Gabbie Hanna and pushed her out of the way. Magic, the writer she was attempting to guide to safety, let out a piercing scream and tried to run, causing Mystic to try to run forward. Thankfully Safiya managed to keep her from running forward.

"Why are we just standing here?" Mystic screamed quietly.  
"Everyone's in trouble."

"Yes, we know," Safiya told her.  
"But right now, it's most important that we get you to safety. Once we get inside of the bunker, we'll need to change, pack quickly, and head through a secret passage."

"Dooper!" Nikita and Manny screamed as Killer Kerrie grabbed ahold of him by the ankle. 

Dooper tried kicking against Kerrie, and soon managed to get a kick to her knees, causing her to topple forward and down. Standing up, he dashed back towards Nikita and Manny, but Sally Slaughter blocked his path, clubbing him with her bat and sending him to the ground. Fortunately, Dooper was persistent and pulled himself back up. 

All of a sudden, dark, purple smoke slithered inside, giving Mystic the chills and causing tears to form in her eyes. 

"No," she squeaked.

Safiya gave her a tight squeeze to let her know they were still there.

"We'd better get to the bunker," Matt whispered. 

All of a sudden, the smoke gathered, spiraling upward until it dissipated to reveal a tall, dark, and handsome-looking man carrying a staff. Using his staff, he pointed it at Liza and pulled her over.

"Where is she?" he hissed slowly. 

"Uh," Liza hesitated anxiously.  
"That depends on, uh, who you mean by she."

Angrily, he pulled back his staff, jerking Liza closer.

"You know who I mean."

"No, I really don't."

"Liar!"

With a mere flick, he threw Liza across the sanctuary and to the ground. Mystic began to feel fury rising in her veins, but Safiya still had a tight grip on her.

"He can't keep doing this," she whispered through her burning tears.  
"This is inhumane!"

"I know," Safiya assured her.  
"But it's not worth risking your safety. If he gets his hands on you, the world is doomed."

All of a sudden, the Cursed God approached the bushes where the group was concealed and Safiya put her hand on Mystic's mouth. Pointing his staff in their direction, a simple, smooth, flick of the wrist ~~(look at the flicka da wrist (the wrist) look at the flicka da wrist (the wrist) look at the flicka da wrist (hoo!))~~ was all it took to send them flying out of the bushes and onto the ground. 

"Well, fuck," Mystic grumbled under her breath as the Cursed God approached them.

Another flick of the wrist put them standing as Safiya still held onto Mystic. 

"How long has it been, my sweet?" he asked reaching out and caressing her cheek, causing her to flinch.  
"Far too long that we have been playing hide-and-seek. But playtime's over."

Instinctively, Matt and Ro also grabbed onto Mystic. The determination in the eyes of all three of them indicated that not even an army of thousands would take Mystic from them as long as the Cursed God still existed.

"Look around you, my love," he scoffed as other agents approached.  
"This primitive patch of land? The measly Society agents still alive? It's simply unbecoming for a queen of eternity. What can these peasants give you that I cannot?"

 _L_ _ove, friendship, truth, happiness, life,_ Mystic listed off her head.

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I can give you everything you've ever wanted. I can make everyone who abused you pay the price. I can make you a queen, doused in luxury and bathed in innocence. I can take away all of the pain, make you anew, give you true happiness. Isn't that what you've wanted for so long? To truly be happy?"

She hesitated once he said that. It was true that she did want to be happy for such a long time, but something told her that the Cursed God was not going to be the one who gave it to her. 

"All I ask for is your hand in marriage. That's all. It's no burden, my dearest. It really isn't. You will never have to worry about a single thing. You will have a life of luxury and power. And best of all, a loving husband who would stop time for you."

"Stop......time.....?" Mystic faltered.

"Indeed, my love," he confirmed, holding out his hand.  
"All I ask is to make you my queen."

Shivers ran through Mystic as she contemplated this. On one hand, she'd been through more than the average person throughout their life; a life where she wouldn't have to worry and she'd be happy would be amazing. But she also remembered what Safiya and the others had said. But before she could answer, the trio started running away with her in tow. 

"Bring my bride back!" he ordered harshly.  
"I'm not finished yet."

"Yeah, but we are!" Safiya yelled in response.

The Cursed God pointed his staff at them, trying to bring them back, but the three of them ran like comets into the bunker, slamming the door and setting the commands so that only lucid agents could access the bunker. 

"You didn't even--" Mystic began.

"The answer had to be no," Safiya finished.  
"There wasn't a need for you to give a response."

As they set locks on the bunker so that only certain people could access it, Mystic thought about how that wasn't it at all. Because a small part of her mind had wanted her to say yes. And she feared that that part was growing. Was the Cursed God right? Could he truly be her only chance to never have to suffer ever again?


	21. Lucidity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So apparently NervousAliceCurious has created a series and two of those stories, at least, are in connection with/take place in the same universe as this fanfic; honestly I'm shonored (shook and honored). It's kinda fucking surreal.
> 
> So I decided to give y'all a little more.

Mystic, in spite of being inside the bunker, could still hear the screams and cries of the war going on outside. Tried as she might to block them out, it was useless.

“Do we really have to go?” she panicked as Safiya handed her a set of black clothes.

“If we want to get you out safely, yes,” she replied.

“But people could be dying out there. Fucking dying! And it’ll be all my fucking fault.”

“It’s not your fault,” Ro assured her kindly.

“Is it?” she scoffed as she went down the corridor to get changed.  
“Because, last time I checked, the Cursed God’s been pursuing me for a good damn while now!”

With that she found the elevator and went downstairs to her room.

* * *

“Not my fault,” she grumbled as she removed her makeup.  
“Yeah right. Likely story. Like, can I just have a little peace and quiet? A little fun without some Cursed God trying to hypnotize me every five seconds? IS THAT TOO FUCKING MUCH TO ASK FOR?”

Groaning she flew off her dress, quickly hopped in the shower to wash out the hairspray and shit, and then put on her suit. When she came back to her bedroom, there was a note on her bed. All it took was one look of the signature for her to nope on out.

“Guys, I think the Cursed God got into my room,” she panted as she skidded to a halt at the entrance, her hands on her knees.  
“I found a note from him on my bed.”

“Then all the better that we get out, quick!” Safiya responded.

All of a sudden, they heard a knock on the bunker door. Mystic peeked through the small circular window and saw two figures.

“Hey. That’s Alice and Envy. Oh shit. Alice looks pretty wounded. She needs help! Wait. Are those……daggers in her chest?”

“What are they doing?” Matt asked.

“They’re trying to get in,” Mystic noted in confusion.  
“Wait, Saf. I thought you’d only made it so that lucid agents could get inside.”

“I did,” she replied in surprise.

“So then why can’t they……?”

Her eyes grew wide as she saw the blank glaze in Envy’s eyes.

_Shit._

“We need to go,” Mystic told them with an overt sense of urgency.  
“Now!”

Without another word, the four of them bolted for the detox room until Ro remembered.

“Wait. I have to set something up.”

She rushed into the infirmary, Mystic following her closely. Ro put three flat projectors on the bed before pressing a button nearby. Three holograms appeared showing her, Saf, and Matt pretty badly wounded, lying on the bed. Mystic figured it was to throw off suspicion.

“Sorry I don’t have one for you,” she apologized sheepishly.

“It’s fine. Let’s just go.”

As Saf led them to the detox room, Mystic couldn’t help but think about how she felt around the Cursed God. Why did her heart get so fluttery that time? Are her feelings about him changing that much? No, it’s not possible. He’s evil. She’s not. They didn’t belong together. Right? Right?

Meanwhile, they entered the detox room where Safiya went to the back wall and pulled out a panel. It opened to a dark underground hall.

“This is the safest way out,” she assured Mystic.  
“And the quickest. We should be on our way to getting those crystals in no time.”

They were about to step through when all of a sudden, a voice screamed, with the occasional voice crack, as they ran downstairs.

“Dooper!” Safiya exclaimed.  
“What’s going on?”

He stopped screaming for a second and shrugged.

“I dunno. I kinda like panicking when everyone else is. It makes me feel like I’m a part of something. Oh, also it’s not safe to go out that way yet. The clowns are guarding the exit.”

“Wait, how did you--?”

“I have my secrets,” he shrugged.  
“But you four need to stay here until things calm down.”

Soon enough Nikita and Manny followed suit and Mystic shook her head.

“Fuck this,” she groaned as she tried to step inside.  
“I’m just gonna go by myself.”

“No!” all of them shouted.

Ro and Saf pulled her back inside.

“What the hell?” she snapped.  
“I’m not incapable of holding my ground!”

“We know,” Safiya assured her.  
“But even for a capable person, those clowns are extremely versatile and dangerous. We need to get things to cool down first.”

“That could take weeks, though," Dooper sighed.

Suddenly, Colleen and Gabbie busted in, carrying Alice and Envy.

“Guys, what the fuck?” Mystic hissed as they were about to turn around, realizing they missed the infirmary.  
“How did they get in here? They’re not lucid.”

“Oh, I turned off the locks,” Colleen admitted.

If looks could kill, Mystic would’ve been charged with murder the way she was glaring at Colleen.

“That was put there for a fucking reason!” she growled as Safiya sealed the wall back up.

“But Alice’s mortally wounded.”

“But Envy’s not lucid! I saw the glaze in their eyes.”

Envy began to stir and Mystic tried to deck them unconscious, but Gabbie stopped her fist.

“What……” Envy groaned before opening their eyes.  
“What’s going on?”

“We need to get you to the infirmary,” Colleen told them before she and Gabbie rushed off.

Groaning, Mystic trudged back to the trio plus Dooper.

“How long do you think we’ll have to wait this out?” she sighed.

“Who knows?” he replied with a shrug.  
“It could be a few hours, days, or even weeks.”

“We don’t have that kind of time, though. We need to get rid of this bastard now!”

Huffing she kicked her foot against the leg of the control panel before realizing that it’s solid metal, which hurts like a motherfucker.

“Look, I know you’re impatient,” Matt empathized.  
“But we do need to make sure the conditions we’re taking off in are relatively safe before going. I think we need to rest.”

“But that war---“ Mystic began.

“Don’t worry about it too much, honey,” Manny assured.  
“They know what they’ve signed up for, and so did we.”

All of a sudden, they heard a scream erupt from the infirmary.

"What the hell was that?" Nikita exclaimed.

“Oh, right,” Ro blushed as she headed towards the door.  
“I’m gonna go turn those off. Mystic, if you’re not comfortable sleeping in your room, you can sleep in mine.”


	22. Searching for Answers

A few hours ended up turning into a few days and then a few weeks with no sign of safety for them to exit and find the tokens. Mystic was growing restless and irritable.

And then another invasion ensued.

This one at the fault of whoever should’ve been in charge of detoxing Andrea Brooks. They were right in the middle of the battle, pandemonium everywhere, when she felt a hook hand tap her shoulder.

“Oh hey,” Willie replied with his smiling face.  
“I’m supposed to take you to the Cursed God.”

“Get away from her!” Matt yelled charging at Willie.

All of a sudden, Willie pulled out his angry face.

“I don’t like your tone, Mr. Detective!” he growled as he let go of Mystic before shanking the Detective, who gave a yell as he collapsed to the ground. To her horror, Mystic noticed that the stab wound was right by the lungs, any closer would’ve been fatal. She ran towards him when Andrea Russett pulled her out of the way.

“You go and hide with Safiya and Ro,” she urged her.  
“I’ll get Matt to the infirmary.”

“But---“

“Just go!”

Immediately Safiya and Ro motioned to her from the bushes. Reluctantly sighing, Mystic leaped inside.

“I’m sorry!” she whimpered.

“It’s not your fault,” Safiya told her.  
“Matt knew what he was signing up for.”

“So you’re saying he deserved to get stabbed?”

“Not at all!” Ro exclaimed.  
“But all of us were informed of the risks we were going to face with this. Putting our lives on the line---“

“I found you!” a voice growled.

Before either of them could react, Nicholas went for Mystic who was pushed back by Safiya. Nicholas then grabbed Safiya and slammed her against a nearby watch tower, one hand on her neck and another crushing her chest. Mystic heard her choke and before Ro could stop her, she ran outside and punched Nicholas, just as Safiya’s face was turning a deep blue from lack of oxygen.

“Get the fuck away from her!” she snapped.

Whirling around he grinned evilly, holding out Safiya, who was close to death, before Nikita and Manny popped out of nowhere, pushing him to the ground. He lost his grip on Safiya, who rolled out of harm’s reach, desperately gasping for air. Mystic noticed just how close she was to death as Nikita and Manny dragged her to the bunker. That was another close call.

Meanwhile, Ro jumped out and grabbed her as the Killer Clown Leader pointed her gun at her.

“Just give her up already,” she snarled.  
“You’re outnumbered.”

“Never!” Ro barked back defensively.  
“I’d sooner die than let her get taken away.”

“That can be arranged!”

There was a click, a boom, and a shriek. Ro dropped to the ground, holding her chest in pain. Mystic ran over to her, seeing the pink bullet. It was a mere inch from her heart.

“Time to go home,” the Killer Clown Leader growled as she hovered above Mystic.  
“To your husband.”

“Like that’ll happen, you shit-eating clown cunt!” Mystic struck at her with venom.

She kicked just below her knees, causing the clown to drop to the ground, losing her grip on her gun. Before she could react, Mystic snatched up her gun and fired a few bullets into her legs. Not enough to kill her, but just enough to render her unable to fight. Tossing the gun just out of her reach, Mystic ran away from the clown over to Ro, but Justine had reached her first.

“We need to get you two to safety,” she told Mystic.

Before she could say anything, Justine snatched her up and brought her over and into the bunker.

“But Ro---,” Mystic began.

“I’ll get her to the infirmary,” Justine assured her before running off.

Feeling powerless, Mystic ran off to her room.

* * *

Following the weeks after the battle had been quelled due to fatigue on both sides, Andrea Brooks was immediately detoxed twice. Matt, Safiya, and Ro stayed in the infirmary for about two to three weeks. Matt and Ro had to recover from their wounds and blood loss, while Safiya’s lungs had taken copious amounts of damage and she had to be given oxygen daily in order for them to heal and fully fill with air.

For those two weeks, Mystic had stayed in her room, only drinking water and eating small granola bars. Otherwise she had almost no appetite. Her hair began to become greasy from lack of showering. People had tried to get her to come out, but they usually wouldn’t get an answer. Nearly a month after, she’d tried to kill herself. Were it not for Ro, Safiya, and Matt, she would’ve likely gone through with it.

Once saved from death, Mystic was closely watched by the agency. In fact, up to the point of annoyance. She was more anxious to get moving now. But how the hell could she do that when everyone was watching her like a hawk?

She decided to take advantage of this watchfulness to gather some answers. How had she known Envy’s name? Did more people know of this strange entity? She had to know the truth. And who better to give her information than the Society?

So when it was Calliope’s turn to watch over her, she decided to question her on the matter.

“Calliope, do you know of a guy named Envy?”

She looked up at Mystic with confusion.

“Who?”

This took her by surprise.

“Envy. He was helping Alice inside.”

“I have never heard of anyone named Envy. Are you sure you’re feeling okay?”

“Then who was helping Alice to the bunker during the first invasion?”

“I don’t know. She seemed to be floating.”

“She wasn’t floating. She couldn’t have been. Someone was carrying her! I swear I saw him, and his name was Envy!”

Calliope reached her hand out and touched her forehead.

“I am not feverish!” she growled as she pushed it away.  
“I know what I saw, and what I saw was a person carrying Alice. There is a possibility that you just don’t know. But there must be a Society member who does.”

“Not to my knowledge,” Calliope sighed.  
“Do any of us know one who goes by the name of Envy. You’ve been detoxed, right?”

“YES!” she snapped before slowly drawing back.  
“I’m sorry. It’s just…..I need answers. I KNOW what I saw. I just don’t know WHY I knew his name.”

They were silent for the rest of the time. Mystic ruminated in her troubles as Calliope practiced some sort of psychic art. Who was this Envy? Why was he here? And more importantly, why didn’t the Society know him?


	23. Infection Detection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Because who doesn't love parasites?
> 
> I don't.

Weeks went by where Mystic was still under constant watch. Nearly every second of every hour of every day, someone was watching her to make sure she was safe.

And it was getting really fucking annoying!

It’d been nearly two months since she’d tried to kill herself and she’d used that time to try to talk to every single member of the Society, but none of them knew who Envy was. On top of it all, they weren’t any closer to recovering the tokens of Everlock than when she first arrived!

But then something changed.

It started with Andrea Brooks, again. That girl really needs to be protected. And apparently that was the thought Andrea was having about Mystic because she kept following Mystic around with a smile on her face. As in a wide-ass smile. Whenever Mystic even tripped on her own feet, Andrea acted as though she’d fallen on a cobra’s fangs, that is to say, as if she was dying.

But the strangest thing of all, the thing that creeped Mystic out the most, was that all of the pigment in her skin, eyes, lips, all of it had disappeared overnight. She was as white as a sheet of paper. Around that time, their water filter seemed to have mysteriously malfunctioned overnight. Mystic figured that these two seemed to have a connection. She had to get an analysis of this and figure out how to reverse it.

Except there was one problem. Andrea Brooks would NOT leave her alone. No matter what. And because she didn’t leave her alone, Mystic couldn’t come up with a plan with someone else. So she decided to improvise.

One morning, she led Andrea into the broom closet where Matt had hidden to capture her for the talent show two months prior. She had grabbed a steel-armed broom beforehand. As soon as Andrea was inside, Mystic dashed out, slammed, and barred the door. She could hear Andrea struggling against the barrier, even becoming rabid with a need to watch over and protect Mystic.

Quick as a flash, the latter rushed off to the lab. Shutting and locking the door with Matt, Ro, and Safiya, who thankfully had saved their filtered water, Mystic grabbed a beaker and started filling it with water.

“Mystic? What’s wrong?” Safiya asked with urgency.

“It’s Andrea Brooks,” she explained as she went over to the analysis station and grabbed an eye dropper.  
“She seems to have been infected with something, and I think it may be in the tap water.”

“Why is it always Andrea Brooks?” Matt asked.

“I have no clue,” Mystic groaned as she placed a droplet of water on a piece of parasitic, viral, and bacterial indication paper. The second the droplet hit the paper, it turned blood red. Mystic studied the color chart to determine the signs.

“’Blood-red indicates a high-quantity presence of an unknown parasite.’ Shit, that’s gotta be it.”

“What are we supposed to do?” Safiya exclaimed.  
“We won’t have a working filter until Saturday.”

All of a sudden, the door opened slowly and in stepped Envy, the same shade of white as Andrea and giving a wide smile. Matt, Ro, and Safiya gathered around Mystic.

“He’s transparent to us,” Safiya exclaimed.  
“Is that who you were talking about? Is that Envy?”

Mystic nodded.

“Protect……Protect…..Protect….” he droned monotonously.

“We have to get out of here,” Mystic shivered as he approached slowly.

They tried to sneak away, but he seemed to have a keen sense of location. For as they tried to leave, he turned rabid, frothing at the mouth as he lunged at the trio, who broke into a run with Mystic in the middle.

“Is it just him and Andrea?” Safiya asked.

“I think so,” Mystic replied.

But that was shot down really quickly. As they turned the corner, swarms of the YouTubers, all with the same symptoms lunging at them.

“It’s not safe here,” Safiya gasped as she tried to fight off Colleen.

“Where can we go?” Ro asked as she grabbed an emergency fire extinguisher on the walls, spraying it in an attempt to subdue Envy whose eyes had now turned blood red.

“Anywhere but here.”

“But I think that’s what the Cursed God wants,” Mystic shivered.

“It’s either we run from here and find an antidote or we get mauled to death,” Matt yelled.

Suddenly Ro spotted an opening in Envy’s offenses. Grabbing the others, she dashed past him and led them into the detox lab. Shutting and barricading the door, she grabbed the black agent suits they had on two months prior, as well as four backpacks filled with gadgets and food.

“Get these on, quickly!” she told them.  
“We probably won’t be able to hold them off for too long, but we could probably hold them off long enough for us to get out.”

In a flash, Mystic slipped into her suit.

“You’re here too?” a voice gasped.

Whirling around, Mystic spied Nora, Dooper, and the other writers.

“How the hell did you guys get here?” Mystic asked.

“We took shelter as soon as we saw them being infected,” Ines panted in fear.  
“Even a single drop of infected saliva on an open wound can transmit the parasite.”

“All of you, head into the storage chamber and grab suits and bags,” Ro ordered them.

“But what about Alice?” Nora exclaimed as she grabbed her bag and suit.  
“She’s still in the hospital wing.”

“It’s too late,” Mystic replied in fear as the horde approached.  
“If we try to get her now, we’ll only risk infection.”

“ _Guys? Are you there?”_ a weak voice emerged from the walkie-talkies.

Mystic, without hesitation, grabbed and answered.

“Alice? How did you--?”

“ _They have emergency supplies in the hospital wing. Listen, I don’t have time to barricade the doors, but I can try to make it there.”_

“Don’t,” Mystic told her.  
“We’ve been compromised. The group’s headed to the detox room.”

“ _I know, but I found a secret hatch in the hospital wing. It’s lead me into a series of tunnels in a sewer. Just grab me a bag and a suit and I can meet up with you.”_

“But the stab wounds---“ Dooper exclaimed.

“ _I’ve had two months to heal,_ ” she replied.  
“ _I’ll be fine. You all just worried about getting yourselves out. I’m heading your way._ ”

There was a click and a pounding.

“Hurry!” Ro yelled.  
“Get the suits on and go!”

Matt, hurriedly, opened the hatch, leading to the sewer system. Nora and the others jumped out first, after grabbing a spare suit. Then Matt and Mystic waited for Ro to put on her suit while Safiya held the doors and the horde at bay.

“They’re too strong,” Safiya panted as she held against the barrier Ro had made.  
“We’re not gonna be able to hold out much longer.”

“Then we’d better get going,” Ro resolved as she jumped down into the sewer with the others.

Matt and Mystic followed suit and Safiya jumped inside just as the barrier collapsed and the horde burst inside. Quickly Safiya grabbed the hatch and shut it on their faces before taking out a specialized padlock and locking it onto the handle.

“This should buy us some time,” she assured them.  
“The padlock will emit a frequency that will cause them to pass out for a few hours. But it’s gonna activate in thirty seconds and we need to be at least 100 feet away. Go!”

She jumped down from the ladder as the timer counted down. The group ran off and just as they reached 100 feet away, they heard a beep and the rabid horde went silent.

“They’re not……dead, right?” Dooper asked, worried.

“No,” Safiya assured them.  
“Just unconscious. We’d better find Alice and then get going, not only to find an antidote to this parasite, but also the tokens of Everlock.”

 _Finally!_ Mystic thought as the group ran off to meet up with Alice.


	24. Kyrie Elison

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mystic realizes that the Cursed God is a step ahead, and Penelope reveals a shocking possibility.

They ran for several minutes before Mystic nearly stumbled. In spite of how much running she’d done recently, she was still easily winded. And the smell down in the sewers. Oh God!

It wasn’t rancid. It wasn’t disgusting. It was simply…………powerful and intoxicating, but in the worst way. She felt…..lightheaded. And it was becoming thicker. But why weren’t the rest of them affected?

**_Ah. Here we are again. I do so miss these conversations._ **

_It's you!Get out of my head!_

**_I see you’ve found my specialized perfume. Do not worry, my dearest. It only works in the cloud. Make it out of the fog and I’ll be gone. That is, if you can make it before you collapse. If not, the fog shall take you right to me where you belong._ **

Mystic tried to call out for help, but her throat felt tight.

 **_Now why would I let you speak to them? Your voice is meant for my ears and mine alone in this fog._ ** ****

“Mystic?”

She could just make out Stella’s voice.

“Holy shit! She’s collapsing.”

From outside the fog, Nora burst through, grabbing and dragging Mystic through the thick cloud. She felt as though she was swimming in tar.

_Kyrie Elison._

It seemed to fill her lungs.

_Kyrie Elison._

She felt her throat close up.

_Kyrie Elison._

“Hold on, Mystic!” Nora yelled.

Was this the end?

No. Why would the Cursed God try to kill her? He wouldn’t let her kill herself. Pushing herself up, Mystic followed Leah against the tar, now pulling her back.

_Play fair!_

Some of the other writers had grabbed onto Nora. Erica ran into the fog and grabbed ahold of Mystic.

“Just take it a bit at a time,” Erica told her.

Mystic coughed out a cloud. Would this fog never come to an end?

No. She saw the cloud’s end. Energy threaded itself through her veins and she dashed on out, hearing an eardrum-shattering roar of fury. Ro screamed and grabbed onto Matt. 

“What the hell was that?” Dooper gasped.

“He expected this,” Mystic panted as she caught her breath.  
“There may be more traps up ahead.”

“Guys?” a voice up ahead called out.

Running towards them was Alice with another figure following suit. 

“Oh thank God!” she cried out as she neared them.  
“I thought I’d never find you guys. Where’s Envy?”

Mystic glanced over at Safiya regretfully, before turning back to Alice.

“I’m so sorry,” Mystic sighed ruefully.  
“He became infected.”

Alice's face turned pale with fear.

“Infected?” the other figure asked seriously in a proper voice, which had a dialect that border lined on high British. 

Emerging from the dark was a Kirumi Tojo-lookalike that Mystic thought was too familiar.

“Penelope?” Erica gasped.  
“What the hell are you doing here?”

“I heard rumors about the parasite, so I came down here to investigate when Alice ran my way.” 

“It’s true,” Mystic reported.  
“It’s infected just about every single agent.”

“I suspected as much,” she sighed.  
“It’s prevalent in the water system down here. Don’t be afraid of catching it, however. It’s not an airborne parasite like he normally sends out. You can only be infected if you drink infected water or are bitten by someone who is already infected.”

“Why did he send it out?”

“Mystic, my dear, I know you’re much smarter than this. You put it together yourself.” 

She thought about all of the connections; her suicide, Envy’s sudden appearance, the watchful agents. 

“I get it,” she gasped.  
“He wanted me to feel smothered in the agency because he knew that would make me want to leave.”

“Precisely.”

“But how did the parasite get inside the agency in the first place?” Ines wondered.

“Can the water filtration be accessed by outsiders?” Penelope exclaimed.

Aqua shook her head.

“The water filtration system can only be accessed from inside of the sanctuary,” Cedar explained.  
“If the filter were there, it would’ve most certainly detected and eliminated any parasites that came across it.”

A streak of panic came across Penelope’s face.

“That’s what I was most afraid of,” she whimpered.

“What? Why?” Dooper exclaimed confused.

Penelope took a deep breath.

“It’s quite possible,” she declared.  
“That we may have a traitor amongst us.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh oh. Time to play 
> 
> "WHO'S
> 
> THAT
> 
> RAT?"
> 
> With your host Timothy DeLaGhetto.


	25. Who's the rat?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> #StopBlamingAndreaBrooks

“A traitor?” Mystic squeaked.

Penelope nodded.

“One sent by the Cursed God to go undercover and sabotage us in any way possible.”

“It’s probably Andrea Brooks,” Nora scoffed.  
“That girl’s always getting herself possessed.”

“Maybe it’s Teala,” Hazel suggested.

Hearing this Stella gave a wail of fright.

“Maybe,” they clarified.

“Maybe’s basically the same thing as yes,” Stella cried.  
“If it’s true, then Roila’s going to sink for sure!”

“Seriously?” Dooper scoffed.  
“The universe is at stake and all you care about is Roila?”

“They give me reason to live, dingus!”

“Both of you, enough!” Penelope snapped.  
“Start this triviality again, and I’ll have to hypnotize you into silence.”

“We discussed this, Penelope!” Erica whispered through her teeth.

“Oh, we did?” she asked sarcastically.  
“I wasn’t listening, so it doesn’t count.”

“Wait,” Ines piped up.  
“What if the detox didn’t work on one of US?”

The rest of them simply stared at her.

“Us?” Mystic asked.

“Yeah,” she nodded.  
“One of us writers. What if one of US is the traitor?”

A murmur of anxiety rippled amongst the rest of them.

“It’s probably Alice,” Hazel said.  
“She’s kept herself separate from the rest of us.”

“That’s because I’ve been injured!” she snapped.  
“If anyone’s the traitor, it’s probably Stella. She was so easily turned into her darkness persona early on.”

“Why would I want to see my OTP fall to a parasite?” she spattered.  
“It’s likely that Nora's the traitor. She’s the biggest influence in this fandom!”

“I feel guilty just WRITING DEATHS,” Nora stammered.  
“Do you actually think I’d have the guts to infect my favorites? What about Sunny or Kasey? They haven’t even spoken yet.”

“Don’t you dare come for us!” they spat simultaneously.

“ENOUGH!” Mystic yelled.  
“All of you. This isn’t the time to argue about who’s the traitor. Besides Penelope said that it’s only POSSIBLE. She never said it was truth.”

The writers glanced over at each other.

“You know, Mystic,” Ines wondered.  
“It’s quite possible YOU took out that filter. Maybe YOU'RE the traitor."

She was taken aback.

“M…me?” she gasped in shock.  
“Why the hell would I do that?”

“I don’t know. Perhaps you wanted the attention.”

"Do you think I'd go THAT FAR to get attention?" she snapped.

"I don't know," Ines sniffed.  
"Perhaps all of what we know about you is a lie. Maybe you knowingly let the Cursed God into this fandom!"

“You do realize, Ines,” Penelope coughed.  
“That you’re making YOURSELF look rather suspicious. After all, you’re the one who brought up the possibility of one of the writers being the traitor.”

“Plus, me being the traitor is completely illogical,” Mystic explained.  
“The Cursed God wanted to use the parasite to force me to leave the sanctuary. It’d be pointless for him to send me out to infect them.”

“That does make sense,” Erica agreed.

“Look,” Safiya piped up.  
“We still don’t know for sure if a traitor is amongst our ranks. But if we don’t get moving now, the Cursed God will catch up with us. Alice, put on your suit and then we’ll go.”

After she put on the suit, Alice and the rest headed on forward. But the possibility that a traitor was amongst them stung their minds. These writers, they thought they knew each other. But was all of what they knew……..a bunch of lies?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time for a witch hunt!
> 
> Who do YOU think is the traitor? Do you think there IS a traitor?


	26. Lydia Waverly

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new mystery appears and Jael chimes in with some confirmations.

After what seemed like hours of walking, they made it to the end of the sewers and out into the world. But all the while, Mystic thought back to that invasion two months ago.

“Hey,” she asked Safiya.  
“I know you’ve been supervising the reverse engineering of that microphone Calvin said he set up for me. Did you ever figure out what it did?”

“Oh, yeah,” she nodded.  
“It’s a device that manipulates the voice and modifies it to reach hypnotic frequencies. Basically if you had sung into that, we would’ve all become servants to the Cursed God.”

Hearing this, Mystic shivered.

“I still don’t understand why he picked me,” she sighed.  
“There are much better alternatives to me.”

“Not really,” Alice argued.  
“If anyone’s gotta take the burden, why not have it be the one who released him?”

“It was a total accident,” Mystic hissed.  
“Do you want me to suffer?”

“No, but I could never forgive myself if I got someone else to take your place.”

“So what you’re saying is you’d rather have me suffer?”

“Of course not!”

Mystic huffed frustrated.

“I’m sorry,” she sighed.  
“I just don’t understand why he would—“

“Hey, guys?” Cedar called out.  
“Anyone recognize this name?”

They all crowded around them to read the name

“’Lydia Waverly.’”

“Who the hell is that?” Nora asked.

“I suspect this may have been written by a certain dark entity,” Ines sniffed.  
“Guess you’re not as special as you thought, Mystic.”

“You do know we could’ve thrown you straight to the horde of the infected,” Mystic growled.  
“A little respect would go a long way. Unless you want to just outright admit that YOU’RE the traitor.”

“Oh, not THIS again,” Penelope groaned.

“I’m NOT the traitor,” Ines defended.

“Then how do you know so much about all of this?” Mystic questioned.

“I do a lot of research.”

“Okay, can you both please shut the hell up?” Nora asked tiredly.  
“I’m sure that neither of you are the traitor. In fact, I don’t think there really IS a traitor amongst us. If there was, we would’ve found them out by now.”

“Traitors can hide pretty easily,” Stella reminded her.

“Yeah,” Mystic agreed regretfully.  
“I didn’t even realize Mortimer was gonna be a traitor.”

“Okay, but to be fair,” Nora argued.  
“Who even saw that coming?”

All of a sudden, Mystic’s walkie-talkie beeped.

_“Mystic?”_

It was Jael. She snatched it out and pressed the button.

_“Talk to me.”_

“I’m here, Jael.”

_“If the infection rumor is true, I do hope you’ve made it to safety.”_

“Confirmed.”

_“Is anyone else with you?”_

“Uh yeah, actually. Nora, Stella, Dooper, Safiya, Penelope, Matt, Rosanna, Cedar, Alice, Ines, Kasey, Sunny, Ciel, and a few others.”

_“Good.”_

“Hey. Quick question. Any idea how the infection could’ve gotten into the agency?”

There was a moment of static as everyone’s hearts pounded, waiting for the response.

_“We think, unfortunately, someone inside of the agency tampered with the filtration system. However the good news is that we’ve managed to get a sample of the infected water. We’re currently working on an antidote and cure. If things go smoothly, we should be able to cure everyone within a matter of days._

Mystic heard Alice sigh in deep relief, a tear coming down her face.

 _“_ Great, but are you saying that one of us did this?”

_“That’s the most likely possibility. And what’s worse is that we think it may be someone within the ranks of the writers.”_

“Is there any way to tell who the traitor is?”

_“As of now, only by careful observations.”_

“Hey, quick question,” Alice piped up.  
“What exactly IS this parasite?”

_“We currently don’t have a name for it, but we do know it’s genetically engineered from a pre-existing parasite, one that hijacks the brain. The Cursed God modified it so that those who ingested it had a severe and never-ending compulsion to protect Mystic specifically.”_

“Why did they get all pasty and pale and whatnot?” Dooper asked.

_“We’re not entirely sure. We’re thinking it could be a side effect of one of the symptoms. Our current hypothesis is that, in exchange for melanin, the infected become almost superhuman; super strength, speed, and stamina specifically. But due to their low levels of melanin, they’re extremely sensitive to sunlight, some even to the point of death.”_

“What about the blood-redness of their eyes?” Nora asked.

_“That’s another one we don’t know. On our clones, we’ve observed some crying blood once their eyes turned red. We’re currently believing that it could be an increase in blood flow to the vessels located in the eye, but we still are uncertain of the reasoning.”_

“So you can confirm that one of us may, in fact, be a traitor working for the Cursed God?” Mystic asked hesitantly.

_“It’s a hypothesis with a 95% certainty. I need to go help with the antidote. Stay safe.”_

And the walkie-talkie clicked.

“So there really is a traitor amongst us?” Ciel shivered.

“Don’t look at me,” Kasey said putting their hands up.  
“I hate that SOB. Why would I spy for him?”

“Moving away from the traitor point,” Mystic declared.  
“Matt, where’s the first token?”

He gave this some thought.

“I believe it’s located back in the main hub of Everlock. Unfortunately, this means that we’ll have to walk for a couple of days.”

“Fair enough,” Mystic sighed.  
“Let’s get moving.”

“Wait,” Ines questioned.  
“Who made you in charge of this expedition?”

“No one, but someone’s gotta step up. And besides, we can confirm with 99% certainty that I am NOT the traitor, meaning it’d be best for me to lead you all to the right path.”

Ones rolled her eyes.

“Whatever,” she scoffed.

“Like I said,” Mystic huffed.  
“A little respect goes a long way.”

As they walked off, Mystic couldn’t help but eye Ines. Something was up with that girl. She seemed to have an agenda against Mystic or at the very least wasn’t particularly fond of her. This lead Mystic to wonder.

_Is SHE the traitor?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aqua, you got something you wanna tell us?


	27. Mad As A Hatter, Part 3: Nighttime Steals

Alice tossed and turned in her sleeping bag. She could not, for the life of her, doze off. That ghost story, along with the run-in with Horace and the fact that her best friend was still in danger, made it difficult for her to sleep.

Huffing, she decided to take a walk, hoping that would tire her out. Grabbing a flashlight, she nearly screamed when she felt a gloved hand grab it as well.

“Sorry,” Penelope apologized.  
“Didn’t mean to startle you, dear.”

“Oh,” she breathed a sigh of relief.  
“I’m just….I’m having trouble sleeping. I was gonna talk a walk.”

“Funny. I was planning to do the same thing. Follow me. I want to show you something I found.”

She led Alice through a thorny brush into a little clearing. She lifted up a rock to find several dozen small rocks in the shape of teapots.

“What are those?”

“Teastones,” Penelope whispered.  
“Created by the Society’s early alchemists to grant wishes in order to decrease poverty. Legend has it they’ve been buried and scattered throughout Everlock as well as nearby it. Each stone equals one wish. Once the wish is made, the rock turns into dust only to be absorbed by the soil. Legend also has it that if enough dust settles into a particular plot of soil, combined with water, it will sprout a Wish Blossom. And if you turn the blossom into pure liquid and drink it, well, no one knows what happens.”

“Why not?”

“No one’s dared to try to grow one in the first place. Goodness only knows why. If they have, there’s no record of it. Only stories from the medieval and renaissance times, including one of Lydia Waverly.

Lydia Waverly. That name sounded familiar.

“Do you…..know anything about Lydia Waverly?” Alice inquired.

Penelope wracked her brain for a moment.

“Very little. Unfortunately, there seem to be little to no records of her. There are some people who claimed she never even existed. I pity them. Such limited knowledge.”

“What do you mean?”

“Lydia Waverly DID exist, but time rewrote itself to make it so that she never existed. It explains those things like the ‘Magic mirror on the wall’ quote and the monocle on the Monopoly man. What do you call those?”

“The Mandela Effect?”

“Yes, that’s it. The Mandela Effect. When something like what happened to her happens, then time rewrites itself so that that person never existed. But as a consequence, other things also change. Lydia Waverly once existed.”

“What happened to her that made time rewrite itself?”

Penelope shrugged.

“Some say she dabbled in pagan rituals and one went wrong. Others say it was divine intervention. But I think it was her own death that rewrote time.”

“Her own death? What do you mean?”

“It’s rather complex to explain right now. For one, because there’s so little written about her, a lot of what we have about her is merely conjecture.”

“Oh,” Alice said.  
“So are you gonna do anything with these?”

Penelope gave a smirk.

“Well, I was thinking that we make history.”

“How?”

“We create the first recorded instance of the Wish Blossom and the very first instance of someone consuming it.”

“But what if it’s fatal?” Alice panicked.  
“We could kill one of them!”

“Not exactly my problem,” Penelope shrugged.  
“And even if so, we could simply wish it wasn’t. In fact…”

She picked up one of the stones.

“I wish to grow the Wish Blossom tonight.”

The stone glowed gold before dissolving into dust. Penelope let it slip between her gloved fingers into the soil. Pushing aside the rock, she picked up the rest of the teastones before pulling out a bag and stuffing all but one in it. She took the one and said

“I wish that the Wish Blossom would provide a positive effect to the one who drinks it.”

The stone glowed gold and turned into dust.

“There,” Penelope announced with finality.  
“Happy?”

“Not exactly. And neither am I reassured. I don't understand how this'll work or even if it WILL work.”

“You’ll understand when you’re older.”

“I AM older and I still don’t understand.”

Penelope giggled.

“You sound just like I did when I was your age.”

“How? You’re like, what, 15? 16?”

“I’m ageless.”

Alice huffed in frustration as Penelope tried to make another wish when suddenly, they heard rustling in the nearby bushes. The hairs on Alice’s arms stood on end.

“What was that?” she squeaked.

“I don’t know, but I don’t think it’s good.”

“Oh. You think?” Alice whispered harshly.

Another rustle caused Alice to jump, her teeth clacking in her jaws. Was Mystic wrong? Was that ghost story real? All of a sudden, she heard a maddened giggle and even Penelope froze.

“Alice,” she snapped softly.  
“Get back to the campgrounds now.”

“Why?”

“Just go.”

Alice pursed her lips in anger.

“No,” she retaliated.  
“I’m staying here. I’m not gonna let another friend of mine die.”

“That’s very sweet of you, but I’m afraid this is no time to be heroic. You really NEED to go before---“

All of a sudden, a figure jumped out of the bushes and grabbed Penelope from behind. As she struggled, the figure held a cloth to her nose and throat. She attempted to fight back, but to no avail, and soon her body slumped in his arms.

Alice’s heart pounded wildly. Before she could run, the figure lunged out and grabbed hold of her. She tried to scream out for help, but the figure had whipped out another cloth and held it over her mouth and nose. It smelled rather strange and sweet. And it was making her sleepy.

 _Oh no!_ she thought before she too fell into a dreamlike state.

* * *

The next morning, Mystic was the first one up and out of her sleeping bag. She walked around for a bit before coming to a clearing. By a turned-over rock, she saw a flower growing, a flashlight, and a small red velvet pull string bag. Picking it up, she shook it and the contents clattered together. Opening it, she saw at least three or four dozen stones shaped like teapots, as well as a piece of paper. After putting the bag in her suit pocket, she picked up the note and read it to herself, and what she read made her scream.

Immediately Matt, Safiya, Ro, and the writers were at her side.

“What’s wrong?” Safiya barked in a panic.

Without a word, Mystic simply handed the note to her before running off in another direction. Safiya read the note for everyone to hear.

_“My dear Mystic,_

_I have custody of your little friend and my queen of hearts. Should you wish to see them again, bring everyone alive to my cottage. You know which one it is, my dear.”_

_Fondly,_

_Horace._


	28. Mad As A Hatter, Part 4: How Do You Get to Wonderland?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry Alice. It was gonna have a different ending, but the document didn't save it, so I ended up changing the ending.

I dashed past various spots of greenery, my heart racing, as the others kept calling out for her to stop. But I refused. I kept on trudging and running; I was NOT going to let this madman hold them captive. The fear on Alice’s face from yesterday was still embedded in my mind, and it wouldn’t let go of my conscience. I had to save them both.

All of a sudden, I felt a firm but gentle hand on my shoulder.

“Let go!” I barked violently determined.  
“I have to save them. This guy is dangerous."

“The note said that everyone alive has to come,” Safiya informed her.  
“We have to go with you.”

Pulling myself away, I huffed at them

“You don’t know this man like I do,” I trembled.  
“This guy’s psychotic, certifiably delusional. He has a major obsession with _Alice in Wonderland._ ”

“You mean, like the Mad Hatter in _Gotham_?” Nora wondered.

“Exactly like him. He even rhymes. RHYMES! I can’t make this up. He will rhyme almost all the time.”

Hearing that last sentence made my stomach jump.

“Shit. It’s getting to me,” I groaned fearfully as I power-strolled towards the madman’s teapot home.  
“We gotta save them!”

* * *

Alice’s head throbbed as everything started to almost rise her into a conscious state. While this was happening, she heard an echoing rhyme whispered in her ears.

_Wake up, wake up, pretty dear._

_How I welcome you back here._

_And I welcome you to stay_

_As we greet this brand new day._

_So come get up, no time to lose._

_Dear Mystic’s coming, she’ll have to choose._

* * *

Startled, Alice tried to pull herself out of her stupor, but her mind almost jerked her consciousness back. As she reluctantly took her time to recover from her encounter from the night before, her eyes fluttered open and she was seeing double. Having to work to adjust her vision, Alice managed to focus on a single steaming pot of tea, or rather two. Once the two pots became one, she slowly became more deeply aware of her senses.

Taste. There was none.

Smell. She could smell various teas and pastries, freshly baked.

Sight. There were a lot of wild patterns, fantastical colors, strange silhouettes, and a tea party table.

Sound. She heard a kettle bubbling nearby and a cuckoo clock going off, signaling that it was about 9 am.

Touch. Touch was what made her shiver.

There was a man caressing her face slowly.

A shiver ran through her body. Her stomach churned as she wished that she was still out cold, she prayed that some mysterious force would strike her back into an unconscious stupor. Tears formed in her eyes and her throat felt as though it was closing up.

She also felt something on her body. Looking down, she was horrified to find not just ropes binding her to her chair, but also that she was dressed in an Alice costume. And she could simply tell-from the feeling of its material directly on her skin-that her pajamas had been removed while she was out cold.

Her face lost all color as her stomach churned like clothes in a washing machine. Not only was this man under such an extravagant delusion, but he had also undressed her himself without consent. Alice hoped that this was only an inference, but when she spotted her pajamas folded up nicely on a nightstand nearby, she discovered that this may likely just be wishful thinking on her part.

“You’re awake,” Horace whispered in her ear.  
“I’m so glad.”

Slowly he crept to the front of her, inspecting her up and down. A smirk slowly rolled up his face.

“Yes,” he chuckled maddened with satisfaction.  
“You are perfectly suited to this role. This Wonderland’s in my control. But I needed another to play her part. And your friend Mystic had stolen my heart. Her face is sweet and aura's pure. Adorable, and quite demure. But why change her name when someone else will do? Especially someone whose name will stay true?”

On her right, Penelope groaned as her head rose.

“What in the world?” she groaned as she opened her eyes.

Like Alice, she had to spend some time adjusting. While she did this, Horace walked back around, picked up a warm teacup filled with tea and held it to her mouth.

“Drink this,” he whispered.

Alice pursed her lips as she dropped her head to her chest. Horace gave a telling chuckle.

“Stubborn one, aren’t we? I guess we’ll have to see.”

All of a sudden, she heard the sound of a pocket watch ticking in front of her. She knew exactly what it was.

“Listen. Can you hear the clock? How its ticking is synchronizing with your heartbeat?”

If she weren’t tied up, she would be able to not, would be able to cover her ears, but she DID hear it. And it DID synchronize with her heartbeat. And now

“Nothing else. Just the ticking, synchronizing with your heartbeat.”

And so help her God, if she wasn’t about to pass out right the fuck now, she would’ve wanted to hit her head on……..anything in the room. She tried to hit her head against the table, but he, once again without consent, touched her. He placed his hand against her head, grasped her hair, and gently yanked her head up to meet his eyes.

“Look into my eyes,” he lulled.  
“Not around them, not above them, but deep into their centers.”

_Don’t do it, don’t do it, don’t do it, don’t do it._

But she could not, for the life of her, look away from the centers of his eyes. There were no swirls like in the classic sci-fi/horror films. There was nothing visual. It was just like…….a magnetic pull. An invisible force keeping her hooked onto his eyes. One that made her feel both calm and terrified.

“Now sleep,” he ordered softly.

And her eyes locked shut. Her consciousness turned off, but she found herself looking into…..nothingness.

No thoughts, no sensations, nothing.

She couldn’t turn away. She couldn’t move. She couldn’t even blink.

But she could hear, at least she could when she heard a familiar voice whisper

_Alice. You’re back._

Back?

_Yes. Back in Wonderland._

All of a sudden, a strange array of flora and fauna appeared.

_And you have your dress on. The blue dress. The white front. The black headband with the bow. White tights. Blonde hair. Black dress shoes._

She felt it appear upon her body.

_And that lovely high British dialect._

She felt her vocal cords shift.

_We’ve been waiting for you. It’s the Mad Hatter, the March Hare, the dormouse. Your best friends._

Joy filled her.

_Come and join us. Our tea party._

All of a sudden, she heard someone snap their fingers. She opened her eyes and smiled as she saw her best friends.

“Would you care for some more tea, my dear Alice?” the Mad Hatter asked softly.

“Please,” she replied joyfully in her dialect as she held out her tea cup, blissfully unaware that she was not herself.


	29. Mad As A Hatter, Part 5: Things Get Creepier

****As soon as Penelope saw Alice slumped in her chair, her heart began to palpitate in fear. And when Alice woke up, seeing a glaze in her eyes, it only made her more frightened. She was normally not the type to be very scared, as a matter of fact there were very few things in this world that made her feel truly terrified. However, seeing Alice helplessly entranced by his power was enough to make her fear for her life as well as the lives of the other writers and the YouTubers.

“Horace, what have you done to Alice?”

Upon hearing her voice, the clockmaker turns to her and chuckled sinisterly

“Why, I’ve turned her back into herself, my dear.”

“This is not what Alice is like and you know it.”

“That’s what those pesky writers made her think. They wanted to take her away from me, away from us, away from our Wonderland.”

“This isn’t you Horace. What happened to the sweet young man at the academy? That sweet young man I fell for? That I dated?”

Slowly his feet clicked against the floor as he walked over to her side.

“He’s still here right in front of your very eyes, those beautiful, beautiful eyes of yours.”

He reached out to caress her cheek but she flinched.

“Please,” she squeaked very softly.  
“Don’t.”

Horace pulled back looking quite saddened by her lack of compassion. Or at least compassion was how he saw it.

“I trust you’ll get used to this in time,” he declared with certainty.  
“After all of this is where you and I are going to be living. No longer will it be just you or just I. It will be always us, just as we were at the academy, only this time in matrimony.”

Penelope gave him a look that was a mixture of disgust, fear, and confusion.

“M-matrimony?” she trembled.  
“Who says I’m going to marry you?”

“You have no other option,” he snapped.

Suddenly he heard a loud rapping on his front door. He chuckled and smirked.

“Right on cue. I must leave you two. I’ll attend to our guests. You two be your bests.”

And out of his secret lair he went.

* * *

“Horace!” Mystic screeched in fright and in anger.  
“Horace, open up. I know you have Alice and Penelope!”

After what seemed like hours, he finally opened.

“Mystic, my dear. How lovely to have you here,” he chuckled.

“And these are the others. Your sisters and brothers.”

In spite of her height, Ro was the first of the others he spotted.

“What do we have here?” he smiled with a mix of endearment and malice.

“It’s seems that there’s a fairy here.”

He reached out and tried to grab her hair, but Mystic slapped his hand away.

“Don’t you dare touch her, or any of us!”

“Where’s Penelope!” Chala snapped.

“Where’s Alice?” Aqua demanded.

The writers and YouTubers rushed inside when they heard a door slam and a lock click. They froze, turning to see Horace with a key. Stuffing the key into his coat, he took out a shotgun, causing the others to tremble.

“Welcome to what may very well be your final days of running,” he chuckled as he back them up to a bookshelf.

Slowly he crept over to Mystic, reaching out and touching her face.

“You seem much like an Alice to me. Perhaps I’ll make two, or even three.”

And then this man did something that not even Mystic expected.

He quickly leaned in and placed a kiss right in the center of her forehead, making the others gasp. Paralyzed Mystic’s face lost all color as Horace reached behind them and pull out a red book. There was a click and then the book shelf slowly opened.

“After you, my dear,” he whispered seductively into her ear.

Wanting to get away from the creep, Mystic bolted downstairs to find Alice and Penelope at the tea table.

“Mystic!” Penelope shrieked in relief.  
“Thank God, you’re here. He’s got Alice under his control.”

As the rest of the group made their way down, Mystic turned to see a glossy-eyed Alice.

“Alice,” she gasped.  
“We’re here to rescue you.”

“Rescue? I don’t need to be rescued,” she replied innocently in a British dialect.  
“I’m safe with all of my friends, the Mad Hatter, the March Hare, and the dormouse.”

Mystic’s cheeks lost even more color. She and Safiya reached into their pockets and pulled out knives. Safiya went to work on Alice who was giggling innocently yet maddened with glee as she sang _Twinkle Twinkle Little Bat_ to herself while tilting her head like a metronome while the writers did and said whatever they could to try to snap her out of this.

Meanwhile, Mystic sawed through Penelope’s ropes. One snap was all it took for her to be free. Just as Penelope stood up, Horace appeared with a malicious grin.

“Well, well, well,” he chuckled as he approached Mystic.  
“My Alice has returned to me.”

“You said you were going to make her Alice,” she remarked suspiciously.

“That, my dear, is up to you. It is here I offer you an exchange; agree to be my Mad Hattress, my dear Alice, and I shall let her go. Or you can refuse, and I’ll slaughter ten of the people in this room at random. Once they’re dead, I’ll then choose ten of those alive to drink the blood from their draining corpses---“

“Horace!” Penelope snapped.  
“Stop being so morbid. There must be another way.”

He thought this over and soon enough, an idea popped into his head.

“The Tri Trial,” he announced.

“Tri Trial?” Mystic puzzled.

“It was what we called exams at the academy,” Penelope clarified.  
“We had three tests to pass each time. If you passed, you were free to go home while those with the lower scores had to stay behind and complete another term.”

“Yes,” he gasped.  
“The Tri Trial. I like that. But in order to make this fair….”

He whirled on Alice and snapped his fingers.

“Now sleep.”

Her head slumped over to her chest.

“When I count to three and snap my fingers, you will wake up and turn back to the way you were before. All of the memories of Wonderland are gone for now, you will awaken as who you were when I kidnapped you. One, two, three.”

He snapped his fingers and Alice jerked her head up.

“What? What’s going on?” she asked frantically, but thankfully in her standard dialect, as Bird helped Safiya remove the rest of the rope from around her.  
“Mystic? Leah? Dooper?”

“Ladies and Gentlemen. Everyone in Between and Everyone who is Nowhere,” Horace announced.  
“I declare this Wonderland Tri Trial to commence.”


	30. Mad As A Hatter, Part 6: Poetic Recall

After a few minutes, it seemed that Horace had everything set up.

“I’ve been preparing for a Tri Trial like this ever since I left the academy,” he panted maddened with excitement.

He then took out a piece of paper and did a headcount.

“Everyone line up.”

They did as they were told, afraid of what would happen if they didn’t.

“Now, this Tri Trial shall consist of three tests, obviously. Those of you who make or succeed my expectations will be awarded points. Those who do not will be given no points. There are only four rules:

  1. You are not allowed to work together. 
  2. No penalization will be given for wrong answers.
  3. Points are given for right answers
  4. If you attempt to leave, you forfeit your life.



“At the end, there will be three score groups. Those who had the ten highest scores will win their freedom immediately. Those in the middle group will earn their freedom after a few weeks. Those whose scores are found in the bottom of the barrel will be mine forever. Understood?”

They nodded their heads, many of them trembling.

“Good. Now this first trial is known as Poetic Recall. I have three poems that are associated with Wonderland. You have each been assigned a poem. The objective is to recite your assigned poem from memory to the best of your ability. If you forget a line, just hum through it until you get to what you remember next.

“I have already chosen your poems. Before we begin, a final rule for this trial; you are not allowed to tell anyone what poem you were assigned.”

A moment of silence hung in the air.

“Let the Tri Trial commence,” he declared.

And so it began.

* * *

The first one he called was Alina. Trembling, she followed Horace upstairs. As soon as he shut the doors, Mystic bit down on her lip and began crying.

“Mystic?” Ro asked worried.  
“What’s wrong?”

It took her a little time to gather her thoughts.

“This…..this is all my fault.”

“No,” Alice sighed.  
“It’s mine. If I had listened to Penelope---“

“If I hadn’t talked with Horace in the first place,” Mystic interrupted harshly.  
“We wouldn’t even be here.”

“Both of you, enough,” Penelope snapped kindly.  
“There’s no use arguing over who is at fault. We’re here now. Let’s just focus on staying positive.”

“I’m with Penelope on this,” Ro agreed.

Sighing, Mystic still buried her face in her hands.

A few moments later, Alina came back, her face incredibly pale, as he called the next name; Bird.

When she came back down again, her face was pale as well.

“How did it go?” Alina wondered.

“I think I blew it,” Bird laughed nervously as he called Golden next.

Time went on as more of them were being called, the numbers whittling down, and yet it still felt like an eternity.

“Did Tri Trials at your academy really take this long?” Galaxy asked Penelope in pure disbelief.

“Sometimes longer,” she replied nonchalantly as Bronwyn timidly followed Horace up into the parlor.

Mystic couldn’t keep herself still as they all sat in the spare couches, sofas, and chairs in the storage section of his lair. She tried to daydream, but the anxiety of this trial was getting to her. It’d been ages since she read _Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland._ How would she be able to remember the poetry?

Since her name hadn’t been called yet, she tried to remember what poems might be associated with the story. The first one that came to mind was _Jabberwocky._ She figured it was likely one of the options, considering it’s pretty well-known. The other two, on the other hand, she wasn’t so confident about. If she had to hazard a guess, perhaps either _The Quadrille, The Walrus and the Carpenter,_ or _You Are Old, Father William._

* * *

After Vive came back down, their face a deep red, Matt was called up. Mystic felt pretty confident that Matt would be able to earn his freedom. This was a guy who skipped school lunch to learn new things, who got the highest score on the SAT. She felt herself relax a little.

And her fear subsided even more when he returned with a smile on his face as Dooper was called next. Mystic could see Dooper with tears in his eyes as he left.

“How was it?” Ro asked.

Matt nodded.

“I felt pretty good about it, honestly.”

“But, like, you’re Matpat,” Alina pointed out.  
“Of course you’re gonna get a high score.”

“Doesn’t mean it’s not impressive,” Erica shrugged.

“I agree,” Mystic added.

A few moments later, Dooper returned looking rather ashamed.

“How was it?” Sparkle wondered.

“I…….I couldn’t remember most of it,” he whimpered as Erica heard her name.

“Oh God,” she gasped quietly as she approached Horace.  
“Okay, relax. You’ll be okay.”

And off she went.

Moments later she returned, still looking a little flustered, but significantly more relieved, as Severa heard their name next. This went on for a while longer, more names being called, more people leaving as nervous wrecks, coming back either with a look of relief or tears or a look of total shame. Severa came back in the third camp.

“I thought I’d do better,” they exclaimed embarrassed as Wolf heard their name.

“There’re still two trials to go,” Aurora assured them.  
“You could probably pick your score back up in those.”

Sighing Severa flopped down on a couch and turned their back towards the others. Mystic could sense the tension rising, especially in her. She still hadn’t been called, and neither had Alice. Was he saving them for last? Was he trying to torture them as punishment for running away? She had no clue.

Seconds became minutes, minutes seemed to become hours. More and more of them were coming back either relieved or devastated, and it didn’t surprise Mystic. Their freedom was at stake, and if they tried to leave, it’d be the end for all of them.

Charr came back down, feeling rather ashamed. Mystic was about to comfort them when---

“Mystic,” Horace called.  
“It’s your turn, my dear.”

She froze for a moment, but after taking a deep breath, she followed him.

* * *

The walk up to the parlor seemed rather long. He took her to the tea table upstairs and sat her down in the red velvet chair Alice had been sitting in the day prior while he sat to her left.

“I have a feeling you’re rather familiar with the story of _Alice,_ are you not?”

Mystic shrugged.

“I mean, it’s been a while since I read it,” she replied shamefully.  
“But I hope I’ll do alright.”

“I’m sure you will,” he said.  
“Now, your assigned poem is _Jabberwocky.”_

Mystic took a moment as she sat in shock.

“I beg your pardon?” she asked.

“Yes,” he replied.  
“The assigned poem is _Jabberwocky._ ”

She couldn’t believe her luck! _Jabberwocky_ was the one poem from the books that she knew like the back of her hand. Heck, she'd recited that poem in sixth grade! 

“Would it be alright if I stood?” she asked politely.

He gave her a small nod.

Clearing her throat and standing up, she decided that she might as well make it fun, employing emotion and gestures, turning it into sort of an interpretive piece as she recited.

_“‘Twas brillig and the slithy toves_  
_did gyre and gimble in the wabe._  
_All mimsy were the borogoves  
_ _And the mome raths outgrabe._

_Beware the jabberwock, my son._  
_The jaws that bite, the claws that catch._  
_Beware the jubjub bird, and shun  
_ _The frumious Bandersnatch._

_He took his vorpal sword in hand._  
_Long time the manxome foe he sought_  
_So rested he by the tum-tum tree  
_ _And stood a while in thought._

_And as in uffish thought he stood_  
_The jabberwock with eyes of flame_  
_Came whiffling through the tulgey wood  
_ _And burbled as it came_

_One, two. One, two! And through and through_  
_The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!_  
_He left it dead, and with its head  
_ _He went galumphing back._

_And hast thou slain the jabberwock?_  
_Come to my arms, my beamish boy._  
_O frabjous day, callooh, callay!  
_ _He chortled in his joy._

_‘Twas brillig, and the slithy toves_  
_did gyre and gimble in the wabe._  
_All mimsy were the borogoves  
_ _And the mome raths outgrabe.”_

When Mystic finished, she looked over at Horace. His eyes were wide in shock.

“I’m sorry,” she apologized confused.  
“Is there something wrong?”

“No,” he gasped in awe as he led her to the bookcase.

“Nothing wrong at all.”

Heading back down, she was greeted by a chest-squeezing hug from Ro.

“How did it go?” Matt asked eagerly.

As soon as Mystic was able to catch her breath, she spoke as Penelope was called.

“He…….he……” she tried to explain, still shocked by his reaction.  
“He seemed pretty shocked, for some reason.”

Ignoring the others, she went over to a couch in the far corner and turn her back towards the group, losing herself in thought.


	31. Mad As A Hatter, Part 7: The Second and Third Trials

After some time, he came back and ordered us all to line up.

“Now onto the second trial,” he declared.  
“This one is _Wonderland Trivia._ When your name is called, I shall lead you to the parlor and ask you a series of questions relating to the novel and/or the author himself.”

People started getting called up, but the names just blurred together for me. I tried to zone out, but soon it was my turn. I tried to stay as far away from him as possible. Once again I was sat in the same chair.

_Okay, I can do this. Right?_

“First question; what was Lewis Carroll’s name?”

For a split second, I thought it was a trick question. But I knew better.

_He went under a different name!_

“Charles Ludwig Dodgson,” I answered.

“Who was the basis for the titular character?”

“A little girl with the same name that he knew.”

At this point, most of the answers came flying from my mouth with little hesitation.

“What profession was he in?”

“He taught mathematics, I believe.”

“In what year was _Through the Looking Glass_ published?”

“1872? Or is it 1865?”

“Which is it?”

_Shit._

“I guess…….1872.”

“In the novel, the poem _They Told Me You Had Been To Her Meaning_ can be found in what of the novel?”

“Chapter 12.”

“Why was this poem present?”

“As evidence of the knave stealing the Queen’s tarts.”

“In the Pool of Tears, Alice mentions a historical figure which she associates with the mouse. Who did she mention?”

“William the Conqueror.”

“What language did she figure the mouse spoke?”

“French.”

“What sentence did she say to the mouse and what is the translation?”

“Ou est ma chat? Where is my cat?”

“True or False: Tweedledee and Tweedledum appears in _Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.”_

“False. They made their debut in _Through the Looking Glass.”_

“When Alice arrives at the Duchess’s house, there are two footmen. Name what creatures they are.”

“A Frog Footman and a Fish Footman.”

“What creature did the baby become?”

“A pig.”

“What is the name of the maid that Alice is mistaken for and by whom?”

“Mary Anne by the White Rabbit.”

“What is the advice that the caterpillar gives to Alice when she tries to storm off the first time?”

“Keep your temper.”

“Why will Time not do a thing I ask?”

“The Queen claimed that you were murdering the time during at her Great Concert.”

“What is the non-food item that makes Alice shrink?”

“The fan.”

“What two creatures was Alice left alone with by the Queen of Hearts?”

“A Gryphon and the Mock Turtle.”

“Name the two songs that the Mock Turtle sings.”

“ _The Lobster Quadrille_ and _Beautiful Soup._ ”

“Why couldn’t the guards execute the Cheshire Cat?”

“They were arguing over whether a head can be beheaded if it doesn’t have a body.”

“What is the final question that the young man asks Father William?”

“’What made you so awfully clever?’”  
  
“And finally, a bonus question; why is a raven like a writing desk?”

Oh. THAT question. Fuck if I knew. The most obvious answer was ‘Because Poe wrote upon both,’ but if Horace was as fanatical about this novel if he appeared, he would likely look for a canon answer. It took me a good while to ponder this (and it took the author a google search because I wasn’t sure).

“Because,” I hesitated.  
“Both can produce a few notes, though they are very flat, and they’re nevar placed with the front at the back.”

He scribbled something down on the paper before standing up and leading me down.

After a while, Alice was up. If she lived up to her namesake, I knew that she likely knew the story pretty well. And it seemed to still be true when she returned.

* * *

After this came the final trial. My palms were sweaty as fuck by this point. I was hoping it was something easy.

"For this last trial," he introduced before leaving us hanging in the air for what felt like hours.

_Get to the damn point already!_

"You will be tested on your ability to accurately speak in Received Pronunciation, otherwise known as High British."

 _Are you keeding me?_ I screamed like MirandaSings, internally, with relief.

I hit the fucking jackpot. High British was a dialect I was rather good at.

“But I must warn you,” he cautioned.  
“I am quite the Phonetic Fanatic. My ears can pick up on pronunciation errors very well.”

I saw Alice come back down with a little apprehension on her face, but I didn’t have time to ask her how it went because my name was called next. My poem was _They Told Me You Had Been To Her Meaning,_ which I kinda flat-out forgot existed in the story, but I gave it my best effort.

“How much do you wanna bet Penelope’s gonna get the best score on this?” Arya whispered to Erica as I returned.

“Yes, her accent’s amazing,” she huffed in frustration.  
“I have to live with that, you know!”


	32. Mad As A Hatter, Part 8: Tricks In My Pocket, Things Up My Hat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Awards are given out and it gets.....a little creepy. Read at your own discretion.

Once we were all finished, Horace left and locked the lair to tabulate scores. Nearly everyone was jittering with anxiety. Some were even crying, and of course, Dooper was joining them because he liked to feel like he was a part of something.

I, however, decided to put myself off to the corner, lost in thought. There was something that had been gnawing at me for ages. People seemed to always want to protect me, steer me in a certain life direction, usually without even asking me. I would even go so far as to say there were some who wanted to control me and/or my life. And that was when I decided: after I was freed, the second the opportunity presented itself, I was going to run off on my own.

But I didn’t have time to plan the specifics, for at that moment, Horace returned.

“Everyone line up,” he ordered.

We did so, because once again, being murdered doesn't sound like fun.. As he looked through the pages, he smirked every so often.

“I’m going to call this first group. If you are called, step off to your left.”

He cleared his throat as he called out each name, waiting for the person to step to the left before continuing, which only extended the tension.

“Marly. Kyrie. Sequoia. Arya. Erica. Sunny.”

Soon all six of them were off to the left, glancing at each other, unsure of what this meant.

“This is the group of those whose average scores were above the average overall score, but did not make it into the top. This means you will have to stay with me, but only for a little while.”

He then took out small slips of paper and handed one to each of the six of them. They looked at them and some were pleasantly surprised, while others disappointed.

“Now onto the next group. If you’re called, step off to your right.”

He cleared his throat once again, calling off each name and waiting until they stepped to the side, making it seem as though time was trekking through a think tank of tar.

“Harlow. Ines. Stella. Caelan. Parris. Montana. Nora. Hazel. Hyacinthe. Shiloh. Dooper. Haven. Ciel. Lisbet. Cyrille.”

Once they had stepped to the right, Horace spoke again.

“This is the group of those whose average scores were below the average overall score.”

My heart dropped as I saw him hand out the slips of paper. Some of them tried to laugh it off, while others burst into tears, knowing what this would mean. I saw it from Harlow especially whose lips were pursed tightly in an attempt to hold back tears. They must’ve gotten a rather low average.

“And now for our last group. When I call your name, step out to the center. Alice.”

I heard a small yelp from Alice as her eyes grew wide. And from the way Horace had said her name, I could understand why she’d feel scared, and confused, I imagined. Trembling she stepped out to the center.

“Kasey. Celeste. Taylor. Matt.”

That last name came as no surprise to any of us.

“Mystic.”

Taking a deep breath, I stepped out to the center.

“Penelope. Ro. Safiya.”

Again, the last name came as no surprise to anyone.

“Silvia, and finally Tristen.”

Once we had stepped out, Horace let the atmosphere settle. A chill ran through us. The chill of this moment, the very moment that could decide my fate, circulated me as well, but my mind was working like a clock to determine what my fate was. What had Horace said earlier? About each score group? He’d already announced those who scored at or above the average and those who scored below the average. But that could only mean…….

_Those who have the ten highest scores will win their freedom immediately._

_Holy shit!_

My eyes widened in shock. Our group had the highest scores. We were going to win our freedom!

And that was confirmed.

“This is the group who had the highest overall average scores.”

Some, like Penelope, were stoic about the whole encounter, but beaded tears of joy slid down Alice’s face in disbelief. I was ecstatic for them, but I also looked over to the other group, those who were situated on the right; Dooper, Nora, Stella. They all had a collective stature of defeat and tears in their eyes. I sensed their spirits dropping away from them, similarly to me when I could feel a major depressive episode coming on. I knew that failing an exam fucking sucked, but I wasn’t quite sure why. It was just an exam, right? Then I remembered what Horace had said.

_Those whose scores are found in the bottom of the barrel will be mine forever._

It wasn’t fair. I thought that scores didn’t matter outside of school. Others in that group started to understand as well. Silvia, in particular, was rather vocal.

“If you insist on keeping them here forever,” they hissed.  
“You’ll have to get past the rest of us.”

“Hold, please,” Horace ordered so sharply that Silvia dropped their guard.  
“I have two announcements.”

Once again, he let the tension tremble, rising and falling. It left us all terrified. But finally he spoke.

“The first announcement is the award ceremony. We must award those who had the three highest scores in each category. Next we will award those who consistently achieved high marks in all three trials. Then we shall award those who had the highest average score. And then we shall award the top scorers.”

We all glanced around at confusion, but thought maybe he just wanted to prolong it a little while longer.

 _I guess it’s more time we have as an entire group,_ I thought.

“Before we begin, to be sure those who placed fairly high are recognized, I have decided to award those who scored within the 90s of each category as well; as honorable mentions if you will. Also, to give those of you in the low scoring group a little bit of hope; just because you scored below average does NOT mean you didn’t score a 90 or higher in a category. Same goes to those within the averages.”

As he went through his list, muttering some nonsense to himself, I saw that the two aforementioned groups weren’t sure whether they should be excited, relieved, or scared. It seems like they eventually decided on all three.

“Our first honorable mention for the Poetic Recall, whose recitation of _They Told Me You Had Been To Her Meaning_ scored her a rather remarkable 90 is the always alluringly-lovely Penelope Dowry!”

The rest of us clapped, a little hesitantly, but some, like Dooper, were going full-out, cheering. Horace grabbed her hand and tried to plant a kiss, but she quickly pulled away. Sighing, he handed something to her. Curtseying, she headed back to her spot.”

“Our second honorable mention, for their recitation of _You Are Old, Father William_ earning them a 97 is Sequoia.”

Sequoia stepped up. Horace grabbed their hand and shook it rather profusely.

“Rather fantastic work. Rather fantastic work, indeed,” he beamed.

Sequoia returned with their hand around something small.

“Our third honorable mention, whose recall of _Jabberwocky_ bestowed upon her also a 97 is the raven-haired beauty Safiya Nygaard!”

Safiya looked a bit astonished, blushing slightly as she stepped forward. Like Penelope, Horace attempted to kiss her hand, but she pulled away.

“Good day, sir!” she exclaimed as she snatched something in his held-out hand and rushed back to her spot.

_Thank God._

“And now we get into the top contenders; I must inform you all that we shall have TWO silver winners, as both participants scored the same. Now onto our bronze winner, one who I sense will be a surprise to absolutely no one at all. With his well-interpreted recitation of _They Told Me You Had Been To Her Meaning_ earning him a well-deserved 98, putting him in 3rd place, is Sir Matthew Patrick!”

We all applauded, some looked relieved, because if Matt could score high on these trials, then there was some hope for the rest of us; he'd probably be able to find a way to save us. Matt prepared for the small token, but instead, he received a small box. Opening it, he found a tea saucer with the initials MP painted on it in theorist-green.

“Yes, well done. Well done, indeed,” Horace exclaimed as Matt returned to his spot.  
“Now as I mentioned, we have TWO silver winners, both scoring an impressive 99.”

We were shook to our core. 99? How the hell was that even possible?

“First up, for the rather well-articulated and interpreted recitation of _Jabberwocky_ placing her in silver 2nd is the rather dashing Kasey.”

Kasey reluctantly stepped up to receive their prize, nearly avoiding a kiss on the cheek from Horace. Theirs was also a treasure chest, only this one was a little bigger. I couldn't really see what they'd gotten, but I heard a shriek and I knew something creeped them out.

“And our second silver winner for her glorious recitation of _You Are Old, Father William_ is the lovely Taylor.”

Taylor kept her head down, but Horace tried to bring it back up for her kiss. Sighing he handed her the prize, another treasure chest and another teacup with her name on it and a silver spoon. She dashed back to her place.

“And finally, for our first place in this round, with her rather moving interpretive performance of _Jabberwocky,_ which earned her a perfect 100---“

Gasps rippled amongst us.

“The beautiful angel draped in well-deserved ethereal gold, Lady Mystic.”

_Oh fuck._

Hearing my name, my eyes widened. I didn’t want to go up there! I really fucking didn't. I saw what he had tried to do to several others. I was NOT about that guy. I backed away slowly.

“Come now, my dearest,” he chuckled as he reached for his pocket.  
“There’s no need to be shy. If you like, you can listen to the ticking of my pocket watch to calm you down.”

Alice gasped upon hearing this, and she pulled me forward. I didn't resist because like I was gonna fucking get hypnotized.

“You can do it. Just get it over with,” she encouraged me.

Gulping I cautiously stepped forward, absentmindedly taking hold of Horace’s hand. But to my surprise, he just went for the cheek. But even so, I pulled back.

I received a treasure chest. Inside it was a teapot with my name on it, which was creepy as fuck, as well as a few goodies, such as several sleeves of various biscuits, sugar, creamer, and teabags, particularly peppermint tea bags. Grabbing it I quickly headed back to my spot.

“Now for the trivia awards. Since that last bit took quite a bit of time, I shall simply call out the people and their scores one at a time. To begin, the dashing Penelope Dowry with a score of 90.”

She came up and quickly snatched her prize before heading back to her spot.

“Also with a score of 90, Sir Matthew Patrick.”

Again no surprise there.

“Next with a score of 91, the ravishing Silvia.”

The writer mentioned quickly ran up and grabbed their prize.

“Our final honorable mention, with a score of 93, the dazzling ray of adorable sunshine herself, Rosanna Pansino.”

Blushing, Ro stepped up, but Parris stood by her side.

“I swear, if you dare try to taint this pure cinnamon roll…..” they growled.

“A kiss on the hand won’t dirty this precious flower,” he insisted.

But as they were arguing, to our surprise, Ro stood on her toes and placed a kiss on Horace’s forehead. Even Horace was taken aback.

“You all saw that, right?” Nora gasped.

“Is….is it real?” Kasey asked as Ro skipped back to her place with her prize.

_I'm not sure._

It took Horace a good minute or two to recompose himself.

“Anyway, onto our top three. Just like last trial’s silver, we have two bronze winners, both scoring a 94. The first is our sweet and pure Mystic.”

_I resent you so much right now._

I quickly ran up and snatched my treasure chest. Inside was a tea saucer with my name painted in purple. Then I quickly ran back to my spot.

“And our second bronze winner is the dainty and delicate Hazel.”

The shy girl ran forward with her head down and snatched up her treasure chest.

“Onto the silver! We only have one, with a score of 96 and possessing my absolute favorite name, is the lovely little Alice.”

My heard Alice give a small yelp before shuffling forward. Horace tried to take ahold of her hand, but she kept them behind her back and her head down.

“How?” I heard her whispered.  
  
“That final bonus question, my dear.”

And just as I thought she was in the clear, I saw the bastard leave a peck on her head, and she nearly burst into tears. I ran up, grabbed Alice’s chest and gently pulled Alice back to calm her down.

“It’s okay,” I assured her gently, rubbing her trembling back.  
“We’re gonna get out of here soon, I know it.”

_But not before I slam this son-of-a-bitch's face into a spike-covered wall._

“And finally, our first place gold, another perfect 100, is Celeste.”

Celeste, a bit terrified, rushed up to him. He tried to plant one on her cheek, but---

“Don’t fuck with me, I have magic lesbian protection!” she yelled with an unwavering straight face as she held up her fists.

He was taken aback, so much so that he merely handed her the chest. Feeling pretty smug, she walked back to her spot. I couldn't help but smirk and pump a fist slightly.

"Fuck yeah," I whispered under my breath.

Then I began to wonder.

"Could I use magic ace protection or magic biromantic protection?"

But I didn't have much time to ponder, as he was about to continue.

“Now for the dialect performance. Our first honorable mention goes to, shockingly, one of you from the lower scorers.”

There was a general wave of surprise and anticipation.

“With a score of 90 reciting _They Told Me You Had Been To Her Meaning_ is the gorgeous Ines.”

Ines quickly rushed up and grabbed her prize, astonished at having even scored that high on any category.

“Next up, scoring a 95 for _Jabberwocky,_ Sir Matthew Patrick.”

Again, no surprise there. We were pretty certain he would take one of the top overall spots.

“The final Honorable Mention, with a score of 97 also on _Jabberwocky,_ Kasey.”

Kasey had been called up twice, another potential contender for the top 3 overall.

“Now our 3rd place winner comes from the average group. Taking a 98 on her recitation of _They Told Me You Had Been To Her Meaning,_ the radiant Briar.”

Briar was stoic as she approached him, merely snatching the box with the saucer and turning back before he could plant a kiss.

“Uh, yes,” he coughed embarrassed.  
“Well, our 2nd place contestant, with her recitation on _You Are Old, Father William,_ the ethereal angel, Mystic.”

He hoped I would be too shy to run off, but not me; I snatched away the box with the cup and spoon before returning to my spot. I was tempted to flip him off as well, but I decided against it.

“And finally, with a perfect 100 on her recitation of _They Told Me You Had Been To Her Meaning,_ taking first is no surprise to anyone, the lovely Lady Dowry.”

Applauding, I looked over and saw Erica rolling her eyes as Penelope stepped forward. Carefully, Penelope picked up the box with the tea pot and carried it back.

“Now,” he continued.

“There are 3 people who achieved consistent high marks. I shall not say yet.”

“But you said--!!” Dooper exclaimed.

“So we shall now move on to awarding the top overall average scorers. Normally we’d have only 10, but there were some who achieved the same averages.”

Digging through his jacket, he pulled out a large scroll and why the fuck did he have a scroll? This wasn't Hogwarts. I wish it was.

“When I call your name, come and receive your prize; then stand at the back behind me. This is out of 100. Scoring 67 are Alice and Rosanna. Scoring 69 is Silvia. Totaling 71.6666666 is Tristen. Possessing 73.33333 are Celeste and Taylor. Scoring 85.6666 is Kasey. And taking a 90.4 is Safiya.”

He waited for the applause to die down.

“Now our top 3, all of whom consistently received high marks. In third place, with an average score of 93.3333, is the lovely Penelope Dowry.”

Stepping forward, he handed her a rather large white box.

“Second place,” he continued as she went to the back.  
“With an overall average of 94.333333 is Sir Matthew Patrick!”

He also got a large white box.

“And finally, with an average score of an astounding 97.333333 is our lovely angel of gold, Mystic.”

Realizing that there was no one else, I stepped forward, my anxiety crawling upwards, but he didn’t hand me a box, not yet. Instead he stared at me, almost ravenously.

_Can you **fucking. NOT?**_

“You look so innocent and vulnerable when you’re afraid,” he whispered slowly as he caressed my face. This caused all of the girls to flinch, including me. But what he said next made things even worse.

“A lot of men love that in a girl, and I am no exception.”

At that point, my creep meter was off-the-charts with this dude. A chill ran down my spine. I had to get the fuck out of this. I tried to move to the back of the wall, but he grabbed me before I could.

“Don’t think you can get away so easily,” he chuckled.

“You said we were free to go,” I hissed angrily.

“Oh, yes,” he smirked.  
“I did say that, didn’t I?”

My brain was telling me to fucking get out of there, bitch, but instead I found myself frozen where I stood. And then guess what this motherfucker did? He locked lips with me. 

I could hear Tana Mongeau screaming _WHAT THE FUCK? WHAT THE FUCK?_ as well as that _BITCH WHAT THE FUCK?_ vine. And for good reasons. 

It may have been only a second or two, but it felt like an eternity to me, until Penelope stepped up and gave him a whack in the face.

“Horace!” she snapped as she pulled me away; I was now visibly shaken and on the verge of a shutdown.  
“What on earth was that for?”

He chuckled maliciously.

“Attention, everyone.”

Whipping out a remote, he pressed a button. From out of nowhere, a large pan of glass nearly slammed down, blocking off us high scorers from everyone else. He then casually strolled over to a microphone in the wall and clicked a button.

“It's time for that second announcement I mentioned earlier. There’s been a change in plans,” he announced slowly with villainy oozing from his tone.  
“Those who scored the top marks shall stay with me. Forever.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you REALLY think it was THAT straight-forward?


	33. Mad As A Hatter, Part 9: Off to Wonderland?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well, we're done for.....
> 
> Or are we?

We all stood there, dumbfounded, terrified. Even Penelope, who normally held a stoic expression, found herself wavering.

“You lied to us!” I spat.

He turned towards me.

“You said that we would get to go free.”

“And keep those idiots who know NOTHING of Carroll’s greatest work? Not on your life.”

With a lick of his lips, Horace pressed another button, trapping EVERYONE inside.

“Ladies, gentlemen, and all the rest!” he announced, giving off a malicious ringmaster vibe.  
“It’s time for the main event!”

From his jacket, he pulled out a stack of eleven cards, each with a pocket watch, a tea cup, and a number on its purple backing.

“Here I have eleven cards of fate. Our eleven newest Wonderland denizens will pick one card. Should ANY of you attempt to intervene, it will be off with your head!”

“And suppose WE refuse to pick a card?” Tristen sniffed.

He smirked at the girl trying to give off a façade of strength.

“You’ll have to answer to my pocket watch,” he growled.

I could see Tristen’s eyes widen. I began to tremble, but out of the corner of my eye, I saw Alice on the verge of collapsing. Tugging at Ro’s jacket, she immediately knew. We both reached down and picked her up, I at her right and Ro on her left.

“Alice?” I whispered as I shook her gently.  
“Alice, wake up!”

An idea occurred to me. I quickly snatched up the teapot, still steaming with warm water. Carefully, but quickly, I poured it onto Alice’s face and she began to stir.

“Hello?” she groaned.

“You nearly passed out,” I informed her.

Ro and I held onto her for support as Horace slowly approached us. I could feel his shadow hovering over us.

“Penelope, Mystic, Matthew,” he called.  
“Since you three were in the top scores, you may take your pick of cards. Mystic, my dear, you go first. Pick a number between 1 and 11."

My heart pounded as I scanned the cards. A few moments later, I decided to settle on my favorite number, a lucky number.

“Card number seven,” I declared.

He smirked, then handed me the card.

“Do not look until everyone has their card,” he told me as I grabbed it, before giving me a boop on the nose.

To be honest, I was tempted to, especially considering how condescending of a tone he had, but I decided to hold that off as Matt came forth.

“Now, pick another number, Matthew,” Horace said.  
“Any number between 1 and 11, EXCEPT for 7.”

He gave this some thought before I saw him point at a card with a slightly-higher number value.

“Card number eight.”

Taking it from Horace, he then took a step back as Penelope stepped forward.

“Well, it seems that we’re going in sequential values,” she remarked.  
“So I’ll be taking Card Thrice Squared.”

“You’ve always had a very extensive vocabulary,” he remarked fondly as she snatched the card.  
“Next, our raven-haired beauty.”

He gestured to Safiya. As she was choosing the cards, I noticed that he was trying to reach for her long hair.

“Don’t you dare touch her!” Celeste snapped.

Horace, realizing she was the most defensive of us all, pulled back. I assumed he didn’t want to stir up much trouble, especially as Safiya was making her decision.

“I guess I’ll break the sequence,” she shrugged.  
“Card Eleven.”

He took the card on the far left and handed it to her.

“Kasey, you’re next.”

They were less indecisive than the rest of us, going right for the 1st card after only a few seconds of thought. Celeste was even quicker to come to a decision, as she came up and selected the 3rd card immediately.

Taylor was a bit timid about her choice, selecting the 2nd card after about two minutes of contemplation. Tristen took less time, eventually tapping on the 4th card. I could see Alice trembling more and more as each of her choices whittled down. Goodness knows what she’d end up with. But my biggest concern was getting the hell out of here.

Silvia took the 5th card, leaving 6 and 10 for Ro and Alice.

“Rosanna, you first,” he told her.

She leaned over to Alice.

“Which one do you want?” she asked her softly.  
“I’ll take the other one.”

“Tick tock, my dear. We’ve not much time here,” Horace interrupted in a sing-song voice that sent chills throughout my entire body.

“Card 10,” she blurted out without thinking.

Shuffling up, she took hold of the 10th card.

“And finally, Alice,” he smirked.

Gulping she stepped forward and took ahold of the 6th card.

“Now,” he continued.  
“We shall do our reveal in reverse. Meaning that Alice will be the first to reveal her card. The rest of you are not permitted to look until I say so. Alice, you may look.”

I saw her hand clamped onto the card like a rusty, stuck claw. She was too afraid to flip it over.

“Just……just get it over with, please,” I sighed with a mixture of sadness and defeat.

Her hand trembling, she slowly flipped over the card. Her hand shook so that I gripped onto her wrist just so she could look at it. I glanced at hers.

It was an illustration of a cute little brown kitten with a pink bow around her neck. She was happily chasing a butterfly, trying to paw at it. And on the top of the card, in bold, elaborate print, it read

“Dinah,” Alice read sadly, her shoulders dropping.

She was going to be Dinah, Alice’s pet kitten.

“Oh, don’t be so down. Let’s turn things around,” Horace encouraged her.  
“You’ll get to be adorable forever. Forever and ever.”

 _Okay, that’s not even a rhyme. That’s just downright lazy,_ I thought to myself.

“That doesn’t change the fact that I won’t be human,” I heard her mutter under her breath.

“Next our lovely Rosanna.”

Sighing she flipped over her card and showed it. It was a picture of an adorable little mouse curled up asleep in a teacup on a table. On the top, it read

“The Dormouse,” she shrugged.

I could hear her trying to be positive, but she too had a slight tone of defeat.

Then Silvia flipped hers over; I didn’t see her illustration.

“The Mock Turtle,” she announced in a tone that said “are-you-fucking-kidding-me-right-now?”

Tristen was next.

“The White Queen,” she read, sounding pleasantly surprised.  
“I guess that won’t be too terrible.”

“Yeah, maybe it won’t be for you,” Seilvia scoffed as Celeste flipped over her card.

“The Duchess,” she huffed, glaring at Horace.  
“Really?”

“Don’t look at me,” he gasped innocently.  
“It was destiny.”

“Sure it was,” I heard her scoff.

The options, even though I didn’t know what they were, were slowly whittling down for ME. I kept thinking to what he said yesterday.

_You were going to be Alice as you first had me smitten, but I think you’d fit better as her cute little kitten._

I knew he was talking about Dinah, but Alice had drawn that card, so that one was out of the question.

_And yet I feel your elegance remains to be seen, so another good option would be the White Queen._

Tristen had that card already.

_Or perhaps there’s a slight mischievous streak in that. So maybe I’ll turn you into the Cheshire Cat._

No one had the Cheshire Cat card as far as I knew. I thought it wouldn’t be too terrible of an option; I’d be able to turn invisible at will and do all sorts of crazy shit. Just so long as I didn’t get HER, I was sure I’d be fine. Knock on wood.

Taylor turned hers over and gave a squeak.

“T-the White Rabbit,” she gasped a little fearfully.  
“I-I mean r-rabbits are cute, I guess.”

Next up was Kasey

“Don’t tell me,” she sighed knowingly.  
“I’m the fucking caterpillar, right?”

She flipped hers over and gestured to it.

“What do ya know?” she asked sarcastically.

“I mean, at least you get to smoke some dank kush,” Celeste piped up, sending snickers through the rest of us.

“Smoke tea e’eryday,” Tristen contributed, adding a few more snickers and even a snort.

“We get it, you vape,” I sighed jokingly, causing a full-out ripple of laughter throughout everyone, including those on the other side of the glass. Even Horace couldn’t help but chuckle.

Once we’d calmed down, which took a good five minutes, I noticed that in the ensuing laughter, Alice had gone missing. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed an air vent propped only slightly closed.

 _Did she really just….?_ I thought to myself.

While I’d been looking at the vent, I noticed that Safiya had flipped over her card.

“The Cheshire Cat,” she announced.

Immediately after hearing that, the color draining from my face, I began to pray that Alice was trying to find a way to free us. My heart palpitating, I could barely focus as Penelope flipped her card over.

“The Queen of Hearts,” she said casually.  
“I swear you’ve rigged these, Horace.”

He didn’t respond, just stared at Matt expectantly. He turned over his card.

“The March Hare.”

And my heart dropped. There was only one possible option left. I knew there was no way Wonderland could exist, at least to Horace, without her. I tried to delay the inevitable, hoping desperately for some sort of miracle.

“Well?” Horace asked me expectantly.  
“You are the last one, my dear Mystic. Why don’t you flip your card over?”

At the very least, I had to try to stall, just in case Alice WAS trying to find a way out. so I pretended not to hear.

“Mystic?” he asked again.

I didn’t reply.

“Mystic!” he exclaimed loudly.

I pretended to stir out of a daze.

“What?” I asked "confused."  
“Who are you talking to?”

“You, Mystic.”

“What about me?”

He was giving me a knowing smile.

“It’s time.”

“Time for what?”

“For you to flip it over.”

“Flip it over?”

“Yes.”

“Wait. Flip what over?”

“Your card.”

“What card?”

“The one in your hand.”

I looked down and pretended to be surprised.

“Oh,” I exclaimed.

“You mean THIS card?”

I pointed to it.

“Yes, that one.”

“THIS card?”

“THAT card.”

“This one in my hand?”

“Yes.”

“You want me to do what with it again?”

“Flip it over.”

“Flip it over?”

“Yes.”

“You want me to flip it over?”

“Yes.”

He was becoming increasingly impatient.

“You want me to flip THIS card over?”

“Yes!”

“So, let me get this straight. I just wanna see if I’m hearing this correctly; you want me to take THIS card, THIS dark-purple card with the pocket watch and the teacup on it with a seven written on it in what looks to be sharpie, that I am holding in MY hand. You want ME to take THIS exact card, and flip it over?”

“YES!”

I paused for a moment before shrugging.

“Okay, I can do that.”

I could see him I flipped it over and my heart jumped, but I pretended to merely study it.

“Well?” he asked triumphantly.

I stared up at him and blinked in confusion.

“Well what?” I replied.

“Aren’t you going to say it?”

“Say what?”

“What character you’re going to become.”

“I’m going to become a character?”

“Yes.”

“Which character am I gonna become?”

“It’s on your card.”

“What card?”

“The card in your hand!”

“THIS card?”

“Yes.”

“The one in my hand?”

“Yes. Do you see a character on it?”

“I mean, I see something.”

“Do you see a name on the top of it?”

“Yes.”

“And you also see an illustration, correct?”

“Yes, I see that too.”

“Now let the rest of us know.”

“Okay.”

I turned to the others.

“I would like to let the rest of you know that I do indeed see a name and an illustration on my card.”

“No!” he snapped.  
“I meant tell us the specifics.”

“Oh! Okay,” I agreed.  
“Um, let’s see. On the card, there’s a picture. It’s a picture of a girl, I think. Or it could be a dude with long hair, but I’m guessing it’s a girl. And she has really long hair. And, uh, I think she’s got a dress on. And socks and shoes. She looks like she’s pretty young; I would say she’s probably, maybe, around the age of about 10 years old or so, possibly give or take a few months, potentially. She seems to be sitting in something, not quite sure. It looks like a chair. I think it MAY be a chair. Yes, I do believe she is sitting in a chair. It looks like a very comfortable chair as well. I would love to sit in that chair.  
“She, uh, she has something in her hand. It looks like, I think it may possibly be a cup. No, wait. Oh, no never mind. It is a cup. It might possibly be a teacup? Yes, I think she is indeed holding a tea cup—“

“And what about the name?” he asked through gritted teeth.

At that moment, I saw her. She was out on the other side.

“Alice!”

“Yes!” he exclaimed triumphantly.  
“You’ve said it!”

All of a sudden, Alice went over to the wall and pressed a button. The glass panel lifted up. Horace turned around and gasped.

“Actually, that’s what I meant,” I clarified.


	34. Mad As A Hatter, Part 10: Between Yourself and Me.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If you don't like blood/death, read at your own discretion.

Everyone broke out into a frenzy. Dooper tried busting down the door as the rest of us ran around, trying to keep Horace from succeeding. I tried to run straight for the door, but I felt a sudden yank. Whirling around, I was horrified to see Horace grasping onto me, glaring at me with a toothy grin, licking his lips like a wolf who had just caught his prey. My heart rate skyrocketed.

“Don’t think you’ll escape so easily, my dear. You will always be staying here!”

He began to pull out his pocket watch, but neglected to notice his surroundings. Penelope ran up behind him and suddenly, he felt something hit the back of his head. His grip on me loosened a little, but not quite. He quickly shifted his arm, pinning me just below the neck.

“Everyone!” he announced.

All of a sudden, she felt the cold sting of steel against my right temple; my heart nearly stopped beating. People gasped.

“Oh shit! He’s got a gun,” Erica yelled.

“Try any shenanigans,” Horace continued.  
“And our lovely little angel here will be partially steel. Now I KNOW both parties would prefer her to be alive; however.”

He took his hand and slowly began to stroke my cheek. Tears streamed down my face as I shook with a shiver running through me.

“I would have no qualms about preserving her youth and beauty as a doll. Isn’t that what we all want anyway? To be young and beautiful forever?”

Slowly, he leaned down and planted a kiss on my head before planting more. While he was doing this, his threat gave me an idea. I relaxed and took a deep breath.

“Okay,” I shrugged causally.  
“Go ahead. Kill me.”

This took everyone by surprise, even Horace who stopped kissing me and pulled back, much to the relief of everyone in the room.

“Mystic, what are you doing?” Alice gasped.  
“Please rethink this!”

I shook my head and shrugged again. I knew what I was doing.

“If he’s so insistent on me dying if he can’t have his way, then whatever floats his boat, I guess.”

A click at my head signaled that the trigger had been set. We both seemed to share a sight psychic connection, stalling for time, letting the reaction set in.

“However,” I added with a smirk.  
“I don’t think that the Cursed God will be particularly pleased to hear that you put a bullet in his bride’s skull.”

That did the trick. Gasping, his grip on both her and the gun loosened. I rushed towards the group, but it was at that moment I realized. 

The trigger on the gun had been set.

The second it hit the ground, bullets shot out in all directions. We all ducked, trying to find a place to hide. One nearly grazed the top of my head. Another hit the door button, releasing the lock.

“C’mon!” Dooper yelled.  
“Let’s get out of here!”

We were about to run when suddenly---

“AHH!”

A yell erupted from the back of the room. We all ran over and saw Horace, his hand on his abdomen, which was now a dark red.

With a weak croaking gasp, he fell to his knees and then his side.

“Horace!” Penelope gasped, her face turning paper-white.

Immediately she ran over to his side, and grasp his hand tightly.

“Horace, please,” she trembled.  
“Stay with me. It’s going to be okay.”

Pushing him onto his back, she reached into her pocket and pulled out a pair of tweezers. When she tried to remove the bullet---

“No,” Horace whispered hoarsely.  
“Leave it in there.”

“Why?”

Slowly he looked up at her, giving her a weak smile.

“The blood will rush out faster. I want to spend my last moments with you, I want to make them last.”

While she was staring at him, I noticed his hand trying to reach around her neck.

“Don’t even try!” I snapped rushing over behind Penelope.  
“Doesn’t matter if you’re dying. You’re not taking someone else with you.”

Alice rushed over beside her.

“Penelope,” Horace rasped.  
“Do…..do you remember where we first met?”

She nodded sadly as tears came to her eyes.

“It was out in the academy garden,” she choked.  
“In the labyrinth, shaped like a spiral.”

“Our hands……..they fell on the same flower; a red rose.”

Penelope gave him a sad smile.

“I remember I was so embarrassed at first to even be around you.”

“You wanted to maintain that aloof reputation, so you……..threw yourself into your classes.”

“But I kept finding myself back in that garden, and I’d always find you there by that rose.”

“And then it was almost winter when I----“

“Yes,” she chuckled sadly.  
“You were so bashful about it as well. After you asked, I picked that rose. And then once we were together, you started to call me Rose.”

“My precious Rose,” he coughed weakly.  
“My precious…..Penelope Rose.”

There were a few moments of silence.

“Penelope, do you think there’s a garden like that in the afterlife?”

“I’m sure there is,” she squeaked.

“Good,” he stammered slowly.  
“No one will be able to hurt me there, like they did. Thank you, Penelope. You filled that void of love, the one my ‘family’ made.”

He coughed a bit more and Penelope grasped tighter onto his hand.

This exchange, I realized, showed Horace for who he was. Yes, he was fucking delusional, no it didn’t excuse what he did to them, but Horace wasn’t evil. She saw a young man in him, one who pined for the love that was refused to him as a child.

“There’s a package underneath the table in red rose wrapping,” he exclaimed.  
“Can you bring that, and the book? Please?”

Dooper rushed upstairs and grabbed both.

“Penelope, my rose,” he sighed.  
“That gift is for you. Please……don’t open it until I am gone.”

I took a hold of the book Dooper brought down and placed it in Horace’s hands, while he placed the box by Horace.

“Take good care of Mystic, my rose. She reminds me of you when we first met.”

Penelope tried to stay strong, but her façade was falling to pieces before her eyes. Yet she didn’t care. This man had been her first love. The tears were falling faster.

“Horace,” she squeaked.  
“Please…..don’t go. I……I love you.”

Placing a trembling finger on Penelope’s lips, he began.

 _“They told me you had been to her_  
_And mentioned me to him._  
_She gave me a good character,  
_ _But said I could not swim.”_

A single tear began to flow down her eyes as she continued slowly, through her droplets of melancholy.

 _“He sent them word I had not gone_  
_(we know it to be true)_  
_If she should push the matter on  
_ _What would become of you?"_

Horace grew weaker, he could feel his consciousness fading. I supposed Penelope could sense it as well; slowly and gently, she leaned down, and gave him a tender kiss on the lips, holding it for as long as she could, wishing to savor her last moments with the man she first loved. 

_“If I or she should chance to be  
__Involved in this affair,”_ he continued softly with hope flickering in his dying eyes.

 _“He trusts to you to set them free,  
_ _Exactly as we were.”_

 _“Don't let them know she liked them best,”_ they finished together in near-perfect unison.  
_“For this must ever be_  
_A secret, kept from all the rest,  
__Between yourself and me.”_

At that moment, Horace sunk into a deep slumber, one from which he would never wake up. Penelope gave his hand one more squeeze as a tear fell from her face, dropping onto his heart.

“Is he……is he really?” Erica wondered.

“He is………gone,” Penelope gulped.

Slowly she reached for the package and stood up.

“Come on, everyone,” she sighed, trying to keep the tears from flowing.

“Get your things.”

“Penelope---“ Ines began.

“Please,” she asserted firmly.

“Get your things.”

Slowly we dispersed. Penelope kept silent while she gathered what was hers before sneaking outside and back to the campground to open the package, which I'd taken a peek at later. I found a letter, a glass case with a red rose on the inside, a photo album, a yearbook, and a copy of the Wonderland series. But what broke Penelope, I imagined, was the dedication inside the first book.

_To my dearest rose Penelope,_

_You will always be Alice to me._


	35. Ambushed

After that, we decided to stay at the site for a few more days, just to give us time to mourn. Penelope, especially, was nearly catatonic from his death while the rest of us were simply shaken.

All except for Alice.

She seemed…….unfazed.

It took me some time to notice this, but once I did, I had to do something.

“Hey, Alice?” I asked politely.

“What?” she spat.

Okay, that was definitely NOT like her.

“I need to talk to you.”

“I’m busy.”

I glared at her in disbelief.

“Fine,” she sighed.  
“What do you want?”

I took a deep breath.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, fine, why?”

“You’re not acting like yourself. Who are you?”

Alice blinked.

“You know me, Glass---I mean Mystic. I’m Alice.”

“Nice try,” I growled.  
“But I know Alice, and she’s not like this, so I’m….”

I tried to hold onto “Alice” while grabbing a nearby stick and holding it to her neck.

“Gonna ask one….more…”

I saw “Alice” struggling to not laugh.

“What the hell’s so funny?” I growled.

“Oh man, the Cursed God’s right,” she hooted.  
“You are just too adorable.”

Hearing this, I rolled my eyes. Sure, I didn’t MIND being complimented, but I was a little tired of that compliment being adorable. Well, at least at the moment.

“Just tell me who the hell you are,” I groaned.

Before she could answer, Ines came running from the outskirts of the woods in a panic.

“They’re on their way!” she panted.

“Who?” I asked.

“All of them, the clowns, the mannequins, the zombified agents, everyone!”

_Shit._

“How close are they?”

“I don’t know exactly,” she exclaimed as she grabbed our hands and ran.

“But we need to get out….now!”

* * *

Before we knew it, we were back at the camp. The others seemed to have gotten the memo; they were packing as quickly as possible.

“Mystic!” Ro gasped, running over to hug me.  
“Thank goodness you and Alice are safe.”

“How’s the packing coming along?” Ines asked.

“We should almost be finished,” Safiya informed us.  
“Then we’ll head straight for the town.”

All of a sudden, we saw a large figure rushing towards them. It looked a bit like the Hulk, but without green skin.

“It’s Demon Wilmer,” Nora gasped.  
“We need to go.”

All of a sudden, a dagger zoomed past Leah’s face, hitting against the tree nearby. We were scared to look, but even more horrified to see that they were closer than before. And they had more company.

“Envy?” “Alice” called out.

Immediately I put my hand on her mouth. But by that time, they’d arrived.

“Well, well, well,” the Killer Clown Leader Kerrie smirked.  
“Look what we have here.”

I glared at “Alice.” Suddenly a thought came to my mind. Jael said that it was likely there was a traitor. Could it be?

“And we brought more company.”

She gestured behind her and I couldn’t believe her eyes.

All of the guests were on leashes. Their eyes bright red, crying blood, skin pale as paper, and foaming at the mouths. They became even more aggressive when they saw me, who immediately hugged onto Ro.

“Wait,” Ciel noted.  
“It feels like you’re down a few people.”

“Calliope and Alison got away,” Wilmer growled.

“Where’s Envy?” Alice asked.

This time it was Cindy who stepped forward.

“He and Calvin are getting a bit…..intimate,” she hissed.

“And we,” the three witches chorused.  
“Are taking our queen back.”

“Now then,” the Killer Clown Leader announced, clasping her hands together.  
“We can do this in either one of two ways; the easy way, which is you all hand Mystic over to us of your own free will and we simply take you into custody. Or the hard way, which is we sic these zombified guests on you all, who will tear you apart limb from limb, and THEN we take Mystic. Which is it gonna be?”

We glanced at one another. This was basically going to be a lose-lose, huh?

“How about neither?” I suggested.

“Yeah, no, that’s not an option.”

“Yeah, I like neither,” Lisbet agreed nodding quickly.

“Well, I don’t,” Lucy giggled insanely.

“Wait,” Sally whined.  
“Didn’t the Cursed God say that we’d each get a writer to do whatever we wanted with?”

“Wasn’t that before the parasites were defeated, though?” Luke asked.

“I told you, we should’ve asked for instructions from the boss BEFORE heading out,” Arthur huffed.

“Well, we would have had time to,” Vera scoffed.  
“If SOMEONE didn’t spend so much time on their hair.”

She glared at Belle.

“A girl’s gotta look good when she’s going to track down and kidnap her future queen,” she sniffed as she fluffed up her curls.

“Don’t you have a more simplified way to do your hair?” Lucy scoffed.

“Pigtails are so easy to style, and quite fashionable.”

“Yeah, maybe for a five year old girl,” Sarah mumbled under her breath.

“Okay, look, Scarah. I don’t see YOU trying anything with your hair, so you don’t get to talk.”

While they were fighting, I snatched the red pull string bag from Penelope. I had taken a quick look inside of them during the Tri Trials, so I knew they were Teastones. I took one out, and said quietly.

“I wish that the guests were permanently cured of the infection.”

Just as expected, it glowed gold and turned into dust, which I let drop into the bag. Sure enough the pigment returned to their skin, and their eyes turned back to normal.

“What the hell is going on?” Colleen asked.  
“Why are we on leashes?”

“I think these bitches are into some kinky shit,” Manny mumbled.

I took out another stone.

“I wish they were free from the leashes.”

Another glow, another pile of dust, and the leashes were gone.

“Why can’t you just wish for the Cursed God to be gone?” Sunny whispered to me.

“That’d be too easy.”

All of a sudden, the sky turned dark and the monsters bowed before it. Panicked, I handed the bag to Penelope while Ro, Matt, and Safiya came over to my side. Then he emerged in his human form.

“I had a feeling you would be out and about, my angel,” he purred as he hovered above me.  
“Nature has a fondness for the innocent.”

Frightened, I grabbed onto Ro. “Alice” was the one who spoke up next.

“Where’s Envy?” she demanded.

The Cursed God chuckled.

“He is working with Calvin on some of the decorations for the wedding of me and my lovely bride.”

He reached out and pet me on the head slowly before snapping his fingers. A ring appeared out of thin air and fell into his hand. Gently he took ahold of my hand, and slipped the ring on. The instant it was on all the way, I fell unconscious.

Safiya, Matt, and Ro tried to reach her, but the Cursed God had already swooped her into his arms, carrying her bridal style.

“She’s just as sweet and lovely when she’s asleep,” he sighed, stroking her hair.   
“Now we must go. We have a wedding to prepare for.”

He disappeared, along with the other monsters, but not before adding.

“It will be one the universe will never forget.”


	36. Going Solo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mystic makes a major decision, and she knows the others in the group won't be happy with it.

**(Mystic's POV):**

As usual, it took me a while to come to, my vision hazy and blurry. But where I awoke was an unending breeze of clouds and familiar, but fictional faces. 

"What.....?" I groaned.  
"What's going on here?"

"You're inside a Mindscape."

A girl with blonde hair stepped forward. She had strange glasses on her head. Luna Lovegood. At the same time, other characters were appearing. I felt myself fill with an overwhelming sense of......emptiness and sadness. 

"Do you have the tokens yet?" a girl in black twin drills asked me, Celestia Ludenberg.

I shook my head despondently.

"What's happening now?"

"You're out of consciousness," replied a young red-headed girl with a witch hat on, Himiko Yumeno.  
"Out cold. The Cursed God got a hold of you."

"What's this been?" Celestia wondered.  
"The tenth time you've been out cold?"

"I can't help it, Celeste," I sighed.  
"Seems I'm a magnet for trouble."

"Or perhaps you go looking for it yourself," suggested Maki Harukawa. 

"I'd say it's the latter," a girl in a yellow shirt and pink overalls suggested as she stood beside a boy in dark hair and glasses and a blonde toddler with a blue dress and ponytail. The Baudelaires.  
"We know quite a bit about being magnets for trouble."

"We thought you'd be quicker at finding them," Byakuya sniffed. 

"Them?"

"The tokens," Maki clarified.

"I can use my magic to locate them," Himiko suggested.

"As can I," Luna added.

I shook my head.

"I just........I just want to.......give up."

"You can't give up!" a young girl's voice insisted.

Out of the shadows emerged Lydia Scamander. 

"You've hardly even begun."

"I don't care!" I spat.  
"I've had it. I've had it with being told what to do and who to be!"

That's when it hit me again.

"I know what I have to do."

"You're not gonna---" Violet gasped.

"No," I sighed.  
"Not yet. I'm running away."

"Back to Rosanna and the others?" Kaede Akamatsu wondered.

"Not even them," I growled.  
"I'm going off on my own, no one else with me."

"That's too dangerous!" Violet gasped.

"I don't care! All people do is boss me around, tell me what to do and who I'm supposed to be. I'm fucking sick of it, and I'm sick of them."

"You can't---" Violet began.

"Go ahead," Lydia nodded.  
"I get your struggle."

"How will you survive on your own?" Celeste wondered.

"I'll figure that out."

All of a sudden, the space began to grow dark.

"Looks like you're waking up," Maki pointed out.

"We'll see you again, most likely," Kaede told me just before darkness took hold.

* * *

Sure enough, when I woke up, I was no longer in the woods. I was in a four-poster bed atop a high tower. To my right was an open window, overlooking a dark sunset, a small breeze blowing from it. Immediately, I decided to enact my plan of escape. 

First thing's first, I took the ring the Cursed God placed on me and ripped it off my finger. I threw it under the bed, figuring it was possibly a tracking device. 

Now that that was taken care of, I started searching around the room for something I could use to pack my things. Finally I found a small pull string bag, just big enough to put a few things inside necessary to survival. On the back wall was a table of snacks; I decided to take a few of each, hurriedly stuffing it inside. 

I decided to grab the sheets from the bed and use them as cushioning. I yeeted them out of the window and heard an exclamation.

"What was that?"

Shit. It was Safiya. How the hell'd they find me so fast?

"I think Mystic's up there," Not Alice suggested. 

Footsteps faded away and my heart started pounding. I had to get out of here and fast!

Standing on the ledge, I began to reconsider what I was about to do. Maybe it was better to be safe and overprotected?

 _No!_ I exclaimed.  
 _I can't find who I am without some solitude._

By the time I finally made my decision, I heard the doorknob rattle and fists pounding on the door.

"Mystic!" Nikita exclaimed.

"Mystic, let us in!" Saf added.

Closing my eyes, I began to count.

_1......_

I heard someone fiddling with the lock.

_2......._

A little more.

_3......._

A click followed.

_NOW!_

Just as they flung open the tower door, I dipped down from the tower, hearing a small tear from my back. As I fell I realized that the drop was much more than I expected. I closed my eyes and flattened my hands, hoping they'd break the fall. All of a sudden, I felt myself slow down and then stop. Opening my eyes, I was shocked to see a wave of glittery violet emerging from my hands. 

"That's a part of the suits," I heard Safiya gasp.

Looking up, I saw them glancing down at me. Before they had a chance to say anything, I legged in for a forest up ahead, hoping they wouldn't follow me. 


	37. A Solo Journey for an Introvert, Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mystic decides to find a place to stay when she's interrupted by a deranged bat queen.

**Mystic's POV:**

The forest was calm and serene; a nice change of atmosphere after all of that action. A calm, cool breeze blew through as I heard the pitter-patter of some rain. Perhaps this was where I could figure out these powers that that detox mix-up gave me. I decided first to do a bit of digging around. Looking in bushes, under rocks, scaling trees, if I could, anything that could help me. I tried to summon the same sensation that I'd felt when falling from that tower, only to find that going up was going to take longer to master than going down. 

Sighing, I looked under some more rocks and found small pebbles in the shape of teapots. I decided to use one to wish for a red pull string bag. It dissolved into dust as the bag appeared, and I placed the dust inside. Another wish was used for a treehouse and one appeared. 

I had heard legends of the Wish Blossom, days after Horace's death. I decided to search some more, and I found several of them. It was around nighttime by the time I was done. I was about to head to my tree when I heard a maniacal and insane laugh.

"Mystic!" it giggled in a sing-song voice.

Even through it, I could tell who it was. 

Safiya. 

"Shit, shit, shit."

There was a rustling in the bushes as I rushed to the retractable ladder that led up to my treehouse. I was about a third of the way up when a hand grasped my leg. Gasping, I looked down to see Safiya, her eyes blood red. But her skin wasn't paper-white, so I was confused. Had she contracted the infection?

"Come home, dear," she chuckled.  
"Come to mother!"

Oh hell no!

My heart pounded as some other shadows pawed at me. I knew what I had to do.

"Sorry, Saf," I replied.

I retracted my leg and let loose, kicking her in the face and sending her flying. The shadows became distracted helping Saf as I scurried up and retracted the ladder. By the time she'd recovered, I was already well inside.

"You can't hide up there forever, dearie," she laughed.  
"You'll come out, you'll have to come out eventually. And when you do, we'll be waiting for you!"

I was so distracted by her that I didn't notice someone sneak in and tap me on the shoulder. 

"Hey. I just need to ask you a few questions."


	38. A Solo Journey for an Introvert, Part 2: A Creepy Interview

"Who the hell are you?" I whispered harshly over the cackle of Safiya.  
"And what the hell is going on with Saf?" 

She shrugged.

"I guess, she got obsessed."

"That quickly?"

"I dunno. Maybe this was a spell put on by the Cursed God."

"Probably."

"Anyway, can I just ask you some questions?"

"Uh, I guess?"

She became a cannon, firing away at me.

"What the heck's going on around here that keeps leaving us Otherworlders in the dark? Why do I look like this? Do you know how to fix this!? Where the heck is Envy!? What are you doing trying to get away from everybody who wants to help you!?"

It took me a moment to even process what she was saying, particularly because Safiya was now scratching at the bark of the tree. 

"Um, how about one question at a time?"

Alice sighed.

"Fine. Geez, you humans. First off, what the heck's going on around here that keeps leaving us Otherworlders in the dark?"

Otherworlders?

"I don't know."

"Why do I look like this?"

"I don't know."

"Do you know how to fix this!?"

"No, I don't! I don't even know what you want me to fix!"

"Where the heck is Envy!?"

"I DON'T KNOW!!!"

I was close to tears at this point. This not-Alice was firing so much that I didn't even know.

"Okay," she huffed.  
"You're bound to know this one. What are you doing trying to get away from everybody who wants to help you!?"

That question made me stoic. I took a deep breath and took in the serenity of the forest, save for Safiya laughing maniacally and scratching at the bark down below. 

"That's none of your business," I replied bitterly.

"Do you _**know**_ who I am? What I can _**do**_ to you?" she spat.

"If I knew the answer to that, I wouldn't have asked you when you scared the living daylights out of me! The only thing I can assume is that you're some sort of demon, and if you don't get the hell out of here, I'm gonna have to start praying to God!"

That scared her a little.

"But why are you running?"

"I told you. It's none of your fucking business! Now get the hell out of my house."

"Mystic---"

"FUCK OFF OR I'LL THROW YOU OUT MYSELF!"

I was infuriated at this point, having had enough of literally EVERYONE trying to keep tabs on me. It was what was driving Safiya insane. She decided to back up.

"We're not finished here, glasses girl," she hissed as she jumped from the window she came in.  
"I _**will**_ get those answers, one way or another!"

Heading into my bedroom, I covered my head with the pillow and screamed into my mattress. 


	39. Down Below

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Safiya's going insane.

It'd been about ten minutes of Safiya laughing maniacally and scratching at the bark. Her hands were starting to bleed, but she didn't care. She had only one goal in mind; get Mystic and protect her at ALL COSTS.

"Saf!" Liza exclaimed as they sat at the base of the tree.  
"You've been at it for so long. You're gonna hurt yourself."

She tried to pull Safiya away, but Saf hissed at her like an angry mother cat. 

"Can we just go now?" Tana whined.

"No!" Saf snapped before returning to a chuckle.  
"Sweet and innocent Mystic is up there. I am NOT leaving without her, and neither are any of you!"

They all groaned when they suddenly heard a muffled scream, one that caused Safiya to gasp.

"She's in danger!" she howled scratching even faster at the bark.  
"My baby girl's in danger!"

While she was busy with that, Nikita had the others huddle around.

"Guys, I don't want to be _**that**_ person, but I think Saf's........gone."

"What do you mean?" Andrea R. scoffed.  
"She's literally RIGHT THERE."

"No," Nikita clarified.  
"I meant, like, up here."

She pointed to her head.

"Oh. Yeah, definitely."

"So, should we maybe, uh, sneak out?"

"What are you guys talking about?" a voice laughed softly.

They all yelped when they saw Safiya who had taken a momentary break from her insanity to listen in.

"Uh, n...noth...nothing," Ro lied, feeling terrible. 

"Saf," Nikita sighed.  
"Honey, I don't wanna be _**that**_ person, but you're off your rocker."

"Me?" she panted, a crazed look in her eye.  
"What do you mean? I just want to protect her."

"Yes, but you're going too far," Ro agreed.  
"She's probably scared because you're scratching at that bark."

All of a sudden, a light went off in Saf's head.

"You're right," she chortled.  
"Why do all this manual work? There are tools for that. Stay here!"

She stumbled away, laughing madly. Suddenly a figure popped in.

"Finally!" Alice groaned.  
"I thought she'd never leave."

"Why are YOU still here?" Andrea spat.

"Chill out!" she answered.  
"I'm on your side. I wanna get Mystic back just as much as the rest of you, but she's not gonna say anything if I go back alone."

"Say anything?" Tana wondered.

"I need some answers from her, and I was thinking that she'd be more willing to open up if one of you were with me."

"I'll go," Ro shrugged.  
"She seems to have a bit of a soft-spot for me."

"Ro, you can't trust her!" Liza exclaimed.

"What do you mean? Of course I can."

"Finally!" Alice groaned in relief.  
"Someone believes in me."

"But how are we gonna get back up there?"

Alice darted around before motioning to Ro.

"Just follow me."


	40. A Solo Journey for an Introvert, Part 3: An Attempted Escape

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm NOT coming out!

After the not-Alice left, and after me screaming, I suddenly felt the trunk stop shaking. Confused, I went over to a slightly-opened window and listened.

"Why do all this manual work? There are tools for that. Stay here!"

I then saw Safiya stumble off before the not-Alice jumped out of the bushes and I groaned as I closed the window Alice came in.

"If she thinks she's gonna try to get them to help get that answer out of me, she's out of her mind."

Shaking my head, I went back to bed ~~(Oh goodness. I think Horace still has some influence over me!)~~ Sure enough, about 5 to 10 minutes later, I heard a knock on the window.

"Mystic?" I heard Alice ask.  
"Please let me in."

"I thought I told you to go away," I groaned.

"Yes, but then I decided I didn't want to."

"Doesn't change the fact that I'm not gonna let you in."

I heard her sigh.

"Such a shame. I thought you'd be as sweet as the Cursed God says you are. And I even brought a friend along. One of yours."

I rolled my eyes. Like I was gonna fall for that.

"Sure," I replied sarcastically.  
"Sure you did."

"Mystic?"

My stomach jumped as I heard her.

_Shit._

"Ro?" I exclaimed.  
"How'd you get up here?"

"Alice helped me."

"See? I wasn't lying!" Alice huffed.  
"NOW will you let us in?"

I weighed out my options, but for only a brief second.

"No!" I answered defiantly.  
"I told you the answer to that was none of your business."

Silence. I listened for anything, any sound, any movement, but I heard nothing. Sighing, I turned over in the bed and shut my eyes. 

A few minutes later, I heard the sound of glass shattering. I shot up in bed and froze. Quickly I rushed to the door to lock it, but I felt someone pushing against me.

"You can't win this, Mystic!" Alice snapped.  
"You're gonna have to give me the answer sooner or later!"

Quickly I grabbed a nearby chair and propped it against the door, grabbed my bag of teastones, and headed over to the window by my bed. I prepared to jump from it when the chair fell away from the door. Immediately Ro grabbed the back of my shirt and pulled me back in.

"Nice work, Cinna-roll!" Alice nodded with a triumphant smirk. 

She sat me down on my bed. I tried to yeet myself out of there again, but Ro grabbed ahold of me again.

"Not this time," Alice chuckled, shaking her head.  
"Now you're gonna have to answer to me; what are you doing trying to get away from everybody who wants to help you?"

"I told you that that was NONE of your business. Do you want me to start praying?"

I saw her flinch in fear.

"Where do you keep your duct tape?"

"Like I'm gonna tell you," I scoffed.  
"Besides, how are you gonna get me to answer if my mouth is taped shut?"

That caused her to freeze as she tried to work out the logic before finally groaning.

"Just tell us!"

"No."

"Why not?"

"BECAUSE IT'S NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!"

I grabbed the pillow and tried to put it over my head, when I heard maniacal laughter ascending. The door was open, so I had a clear view of the insanity that was coming in through the window.

"HEEEEERE'S SAFFY!"


	41. A Solo Journey for an Introvert, Part 4: An Insane Bat Queen

Yup.

I don't know how, but Safiya had returned, crazier than ever, with----oh my God! She's got an axe. And looking WAY off of her rocker.

"My dear Mystic," she giggled in a creepy combination of endearment and insanity as her eye twitched.  
"It's been far too long. Come to momma. I'll keep you safe from all of this evil."

_Um, yeah, I'm gonna go with hell no, you crazy-ass bat queen. I mean, Saf, I love you and all, but you're absolutely bonkers and you need to calm the FUCK down!_

Trembling I grabbed onto Ro when Alice stepped in front of us.

_What the hell are you thinking?_

"You wanna get to Mystic? You're gonna have to get through me!"

_Not-Alice, you brave idiot!_

And that thought was with reason.

Safiya charged at Alice with the axe, swinging it wildly with a laugh to match. Soon they were chasing each other all around, the axe even nearly hit me.

"Oh shit!" I nearly screamed.

"Language," Saf hissed at me.  
"Once I take you home, I'll MAKE SURE you never speak another hateful word! I have waysssssssssssssssss!"

Needless to say, I decided to fuck this shit and get the hell outta there. 

"Bye, bitch!" I yelped as I jumped out the window and scaled the treehouse.

"Wait!" Alice exclaimed.  
"What about me?"

"Fuck you. You're on your own, demon!"

I saw her crawling behind me like a fucking spider, Ro in tow. Oh wait, there was Safiya behind her, using the axe to climb the treehouse.

"I'm not paying for that," I mumbled as I yeeted into a tree branch. 

At that moment, I remembered the bag in my hands. I pulled it open and took out a teastone.

"I wish Ro was back safe on the ground."

A golden glow, she disappeared, I let the dust drop into the bag before taking out another.

"I wish I was somewhere safe and far away."

And repeat, except this time, I was in a different forest. My conscience, however, got the better of me as I reluctantly pulled out a stone. 

"I wish Not-Alice was safe as well," I groaned.

And repeat. 

"Geez, I need a fucking break," I sighed to myself as I set off to find shelter. 


	42. A Solo Journey for an Introvert, Part 5: Gingerbread

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mystic finds a place to stay, but the occupant seems a bit........strange.

I ended up walking for a good, maybe, half-hour before spotting anything remotely resembling a house. But when I saw what I came across, I had a bad feeling about it.

It looked like something you'd find out of _Hansel and Gretel,_ an entire house made of gingerbread, gumdrops, and other goodies was just sitting there in the middle of the forest. Now I know fairy tales quite well, so when I saw that gingerbread house, I knew exactly who it was that lived there.

_Yeah, that definitely belongs to a witch._

All of a sudden, the door opened and out stepped a surprisingly young-looking woman with gorgeous brown hair. She wore a long black dress and had a fairly gorgeous face. I felt a mixture of confusion, fear, and intrigue. 

"Why, hello there," she called out when she saw me, smiling kindly.

I was entranced and shocked. She had the most soothing non-rhotic Southern dialect I'd ever heard. It sounded like something straight out of a Tennessee Williams play or a bona-fide Southern Belle.

"Are you lost, honey?"

"Yes, I am," I responded as politely as possible.

"Goodness! Well, we certainly can't have that. It's quite dark out. Come inside, child. I can give you shelter for the night."

I felt torn. I figured that this was likely going to be a bad idea. I know what happens to people who end up going into gingerbread houses. But at the same time, if Safiya were to find me out here alone........

I tried not to think about it.

Cautiously, I walked up to her door and went inside. The smell of sweets was rather overwhelming, but only to a degree, though not nearly as overwhelming as the amount of bird pictures hung about. A fire was crackling underneath a cauldron, its handle hanging on a hook. From the cauldron was a rather overwhelmingly lovely broth of chicken. But that wasn't quite what attracted me to it. There was something circular on it, glowing gold. I tried to get a closer look....

"Careful now, sweetie!" she exclaimed, holding me back.  
"I know it's a bit cold out in these woods, but there's certainly no need to set yourself ablaze."

Out of the blue, I was whirled around to face her, I suppose to get a better look at me, and she immediately gasped.

"Oh my goodness, aren't you just darling! Those doe-like eyes, that button nose, and those cute little cheeks," she fawned as she tapped my nose.  
"You should consider yourself blessed. Most people would KILL to have a babyface like yours." 

I then suddenly felt a bit of my hair being lifted up.

"And my, my, my! Your hair. It's absolutely beautiful. Why, if I had to spin straw into gold string, I'd have a mind to simply take your hair instead."

I felt like she meant all of this as a compliment, but I was getting majorly creeped out. 

"Oh, goodness me! I'd nearly forgotten introductions. My name's Circe Jones."

"Mystic," I replied. 

Circe stared at me inquisitively, rubbing her chin with her finger.

"I don't believe I've ever heard of that being used as a name before. And anyway, you don't look like a Mystic to me. You look more like a Natalie or Lydia. Matter of fact, you remind me of a young woman who had that name."

"Which one?"

"You hungry?"

_That....didn't really answer my question._

But I nodded anyway cuz I'm not about to turn down free food. 


	43. Lady of the Coven, Part 1: Hospitality

As we sat and ate white bean chili, which is more like a thick soup on its own, I started to get a few......vibes from Circe that told me "hey, you might have ANOTHER supernatural stalker on your hands!"

First off, she didn't stop staring at me the entire time and made absolutely no attempt to hide this. Whenever I looked up, she'd still be staring at me, while mindlessly eating her chili. I swear she only blinked a few times the entire meal. 

Second, when I tried to talk to her, trying to get some info on who she was, she would always try to turn it back to me. 

"So, why do you live out here by yourself?"

She shrugged.

"What about where you live? Is it nice?" she replied.

"I mean, I guess. Do you like where you live?"

She shrugged again. 

"Do you live with anyone?"

"I mean, I have 3 roommates at my apartment and my family back at my house. What about your family? Where are they?"

After maybe 10 or 15 minutes of this going on, she asked me one of the strangest questions I think I've ever gotten.

"Would you ever consider joining a coven?"

I nearly dropped my spoon. This was not something I had an answer prepared for, so it took me some time to come up with one. 

"A--a coven?" I stammered nervously.   
"I....don't think I'd be able to. I'm not a witch."

"Just as a hypothetical," she clarified.   
"If you WERE a witch, would you join one?"

"Umm....." I hesitated.  
"I'm.....not really sure. Does being in a coven require a lot of time and dedication?"

"Oh no," she chuckled.  
"It's been said that covens only meet on certain nights. Usually for worship."

Worship?

"Um, I'm not really that into rituals," I replied casually.  
"I usually like to just.....go with the flow. Why do you ask?"

She shrugged for the, what, tenth time that night.

"Just out of curiosity."

Okay?

"Hey, uh, I hope you don't think this offensive, but just out of curiosity on MY end, what's with all of these bird pictures?"

"Hmm? Oh! These? I find birds to be quite beautiful creatures. I developed an appreciation of them from my mother. Matter of fact, she named me Circe because it means 'bird.' I tend to call those closest to me birds, sometimes specific types of birds."

And because no one asked, she leaned forward, almost studying me.

"You look like someone I'd call........a songbird. Youthful, wide-eyed, not yet hardened by the world. Mayhaps, a lark. They seem like the most.....innocent and pure."

I sensed a shiver run through me when she said this. This was becoming a reoccurring theme in my life. 

"Um, well, this has all been delicious, but I'm feeling quite tired. I should go now."

"Go?" she asked hurt.  
"Not when it's this dark out. I already told you you'd be spending the night in my place."

"That's sweet of you, but I don't want to take over your room."

"Oh hush, you won't be. I have a guest room prepared for such an occasion. “

“I really don’t want to be a bother.”

“I insist.”

Something about that last statement gave me the chills. It was very friendly, but there was subtext. Rather demanding and, honestly, frightening subtext. I didn’t want to anger this woman any further, so I nodded.

“Alright,” I obliged reluctantly.

* * *

Holding me by my shoulders, she led me up to a room, the door already open. Inside was a rather gothic-esque room; black and violet were EVERYWHERE.

“D’you like it?” she queried eagerly.  
“I decorated it myself.”

“It’s certainly interesting.”

We stood in the doorway in silence for a few moments. I swear I could hear her breathing and I was starting to feel anxious. 

All of a sudden, a clock gently went off downstairs.

“My goodness!” she crooned surprised.  
“Eleven already? I must be getting to bed. Help yourself to anything in the room, dear.”

She left without another word. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time to do some investigating!


	44. Lady of the Coven, Part 2: Coded Photos

As soon as she was out of earshot, I shut the door and, finding a nearby chair, blocked the rusty black doorknob. I had a few particular goals in mind before I wanted to get the hell out.

First off, check out this room, see if there was anything that could be of use to me. If this woman WAS a witch as I suspected, then she may have a few things that could help me.

Second, figure out my magic a bit more. I may not have been a witch, at least not officially, but hey. If she had magical items, where better to test my magic? It was one of the reasons I ran away in the first place.

Third, I needed to get a better look at what I saw on the cauldron. I know Matt hadn't really delved into too much detail about them, but we hadn't found any of the tokens. I was desperate at this point to find even just ONE, and Circe seemed to have one. I just needed to check to be sure. 

I started in the drawers. Pulling out the first one, I found a partially-empty box of matches and an unopened box of wax candles. The second one contained a jar of salt and a goat skull. The third contained an unopened box of Girl Scout cookies. I kept finding more and more mostly average things, nothing really too interesting. 

That is, until I opened the seventh drawer.

Inside was a colored picture of a familiar face. She was standing next to Circe and smiling, but it looked like her eyes were red, as if she'd been hypnotized or something. 

"Alice?" I gulped.

I flipped over the picture and found a note on the back. 

_Key to Duplication Orb:_

_1225491_

Duplication Orb? And what's with these numbers?

I checked more drawers, finding more and more pictures of people I knew; Nora, Penelope, Safiya, Manny, and more. Was she just trying to steer me astray? Or were these pictures legitimate?

I flipped over the backs of each of the pictures only to find a word written on each one.

 **Nora:** the 

**Penelope:** not

 **Manny:** my

 **Andrea R.:** of

 **Calliope:** Mystic

 **Safiya:** the

 **Nikita:** familiar

 **Timothy:** the 

**Andrea B.:** night 

**Rosanna:** with

 **Sierra:** any

 **Matpat:** soul.

 **Justine:** shall

 **Glozell:** the

 **Taylor:** the

 **Alison:** On 

**Oli:** must

 **Lauren:** become

 **Mortimer:** the

 **Teala:** Signed

 **Roi:** interfere

 **JC:** of 

**Colleen:** to

 **Eva:** At

 **Liza:** for

 **Tana:** circumstances.

 **Lele:** vessel

 **Joey:** she

 **Gabbie:** exactly

 **Stella:** full 

**Ines:** the 

**Kasey:** bring

 **Ciel:** stroke 

**Shane:** under

 **Alex:** Circe,

 **Destorm:** the 

**Dooper:** coven’s

 **Sunny:** Yours

 **Parris:** moon,

 **Briar:** ritual

 **Erica:** meeting.

 **Tristen:** High

 **Hazel:** Sincerely, 

**Tyler:** Priestess.

 **Jesse:** midnight,

 **Matt H.:** Alice

Okay, clearly there was A LOT to unpack, but seeing the word vessel made me have second thoughts about staying there. I decided to stuff them in my backpack, hoping to figure them out later. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well? Y'all are smart. What's the message?
> 
> Next up: Watch me fuck shit up, as usual. XD
> 
> I swear my self-esteem is improving.
> 
> But seriously, in this next chapter, I kinda fuck some shit up.


	45. Lady of the Coven, Part 3: In Which I Almost Commit Arson

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I told you I was fucking shit up in this chapter.

There wasn't much else that I could find in there, so I decided to move onto the second task, whilst completing the first.

In an armoire, I found a candlestick holder. Grabbing it, I went back to the drawer and took out the matches and candles. I placed two of them on there and lit one. Closing my eyes, I tried to focus all of my energy on the candle. 

After about five minutes, I opened my eyes. To my utter disappointment, the candle had only lifted about an inch off and the other candle was still unlit. 

_Okay, breath. You've got this. It's just gonna take more patience._

The lit candle dropped back onto its holder as I tried again, this time attempting to relax and clear my mind. Being someone with ADD, this proved to be a Very Fucking Difficult task. 

Twenty minutes later, I opened my eyes. Still not so much as an inch or two. I was infuriated and confused.

_Maybe if I focus on the flame instead?_

Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes, this time focusing on the flame. The warmth, the wavering, the flickering, the......burning?

_That......shouldn't be happening._

Ten minutes later, I opened my eyes and nearly screamed. I HAD moved the flame, there was no doubt about that. But now a small portion of the drawer below it had caught on fire. 

_Do something, dumbass!_

Panicking, I ran to the bed and snatched up a pillow. I tried fanning the flame, in hopes that the air would blow it out. 

_*facepalm.*_

Big Mistake. 

It then began to consume the rest of the drawers. So I just decided to beat the fire with the pillow. Once again, big mistake. 

"Are you kidding me?" I cried.

In a desperate attempt to fix the situation, I pulled out a teastone.

"I wish the fire was extinguished."

A golden glow and the fire disappeared as the stone turned to dust. Even though the fire was gone, the damage it had done was not. Placing the dust in the bag, I pulled out a second stone.

"I wish the drawers were repaired."

Soon enough, in an instant, they looked like new.

"Okay," I breathed a sigh of relief.  
"Maybe I should try something LESS dangerous than pyrokinesis."

_What if I had someone to help me out?_

Pulling out a teastone, I sighed.

"I wish I had someone to help me with this magic."

Gold, dust, and in front of me was........

_Fuck._

I tried to pull out another stone, but the figure grasped my hand.

"You are NOT getting out of this so easily," chuckled Not-Alice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ......Fuck.


	46. Lady of the Coven, Part 4: Let's Make a Deal!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What's with this Candy Pop person?

I tried to pull away, but Not-Alice maintained a strong grip on me. 

"What's wrong, sweetheart?" she asked mockingly as I struggled against her.  
"Can't handle the Pop?"

This made me stop. 

"Pop?"

Not-Alice seemed to realize she made some sort of mistake and let go. Rushing to the other side of the bedroom, I prepared to pull out another stone.

"Wait!" Not-Alice exclaimed fearfully.  
"Wait, don't!"

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't," I groaned folding my arms.

She struggled to find something. 

"Because I can help you!"

I rolled my eyes.

"Well, you're not doing a good job at it."

I snatched up another stone.

"I wish--"

"Please!" she begged, near tears.  
"I wanna get outta this body!"

I was left speechless. What the hell did she mean?

"So you wanna die?"

"No! I meant out of this puny body. Cuz I'm not whoever this Alice chick is."

"Then why don't you tell me who the hell you are before I wish you straight to Safiya? Or pray?"

Both options seemed to leave her in fear.

"Okay, okay, I'll talk!"

She gave a sigh.

"My name's Candy Pop. I'm not a demon, at least I used to not be one, and this isn't my body."

_Candy Pop?_

"You're really trying to pull one over me, aren't you?" I scoffed.

"I swear!" "Candy Pop" exclaimed.  
"I don't know how I got in this body or how to get myself out. But you---"

They ran over to me and grabbed my shoulders with a crazed and desperate smile.

"You can use one of those fancy wish stones of yours and get me outta here!

"And why should I?" I wondered bitterly.  
"What've you done to help me?"

"I got you out of that lunatic's house. If it weren't for me, you'd be drinking some eterni-TEA!"

"Correction; you got us on the other side of the glass barrier."

"Whatever! The point is, you need me. I can defeat that jerkwad of a Cursed God with my hands tied behind my back."

I rolled my eyes again.

"Sure, you could."

"I CAN! But not while I'm stuck in this body." 

But then they gave a smirk. 

"And besides, tomorrow's a full moon."

This left me confused for a brief moment, until I remembered the photos.

"What's....gonna happen then?" I quivered.

"I'll tell you, little lark, but only if you switch dear ole Poppy back into his body."

"How do I know you won't just desert me once I do?"

I saw their expression falter and I shrugged.

"I'll get you out once we're away from here."

"Then let's book it!"

I shook my head.

"Not yet. There's something I need to do."

"And that is?"

Taking a deep breath, I told them.

"I don't know for sure, but I think I may have found one of the Tokens of Everlock."


	47. Lady of the Coven, Part 5: Full Moon Divination

"The tokens?"

"Yeah, Matt told me about them a while ago. I dunno how many of them are there, though. Probably a lot. Speaking of a lot."

I reached into my bag and pulled out the pictures.

"I found a bunch of these pictures, but they've all got words on the back. I think they form some sort of message, but I need help figuring it out."

I showed him the one of Alice and his eyes grew wide.

"No," he gasped fearfully.  
"I.....I never.....not with her!"

"Her?"

All of a sudden, he began to whirl his head around the room, investigating every area possible.

"Shit. Shit, shit, shit!" he growled.  
"Kid, if that's who I think it is, then you're in a helluva lot of trouble. That woman's bad news!"

"Her?" I questioned staring at one of the other pictures.  
"You mean Circe?"

"YES!" he hissed harshly.

I blinked, staring at the picture in puzzlement.

"But she's been so.....sweet to me. Sure, maybe a bit odd, but nothing extreme."

"Sweet?" he chuckled, before laughing hysterically; I'm surprised Circe didn't come running in.  
"SWEET?! Oh, hon. Don't let that Southern dialect fool you. That woman's nothing but trouble. And if she were to find me---or I guess Alice----I'd be screwed. And you are too!"

"Me? Screwed? No!" I sighed apathetically, really this was nothing new to me.

"I'm serious!" he shrieked quietly.  
"If she succeeds, then you're gonna be stuck here for eternity."

"And exactly HOW is that different to what someone else already has planned for me?"

"Did she ask you about a coven at all?"

I nodded.

"Is she a part of it?"

He shook his head.

"Not anymore, she's not. She's what they call a bloodstain."

"Bloodstain?"

"When witches join a coven, they have to make a blood oath to be loyal to the coven. But that woman's gone against the coven, and when a witch betrays her coven, she's bloodstained. In other words, they slit her throat and her corpse is stained. With blood, obviously."

"So then why's she in communication with the High Priestess?"

"Because they don't know. They still think she's loyal. She's the queen of deception, and what the queen wants, she's gonna do whatever it takes to get."

"What does she want?"

"Like you don't know! You see the note on the back of the picture?"

"Yeah? Something about a Duplication Orb?"

"Put the pictures and that together."

"Well I would," I spat seriously ticked-off at this point.  
"But I don't know how to cuz you're not helping!"

"Calm down!"

"Don't fucking tell me to calm down! I'm pissed cuz I don't know shit at this point, and now you throwing more at me all at once is just making me even more confused!"

"C'mon, doll. You're a smart cookie. You can figure this out. Just give it a whirl."

Sighing, still confused as ever, I placed the pictures on the ground, laying them out in a large rectangle, their faces up. My gaze gravitated towards Alex's picture. Picking it up, I flipped it around to read _Circe,._

"Well," I hesitated.  
"I suppose since she has these, then it must be a message FOR her. So that has to be first."

Still with the teastone in my hand, I flipped the picture upside down.

"I wish I had a pencil."

A glow and I felt something crumble to dust in my hands. Reacting quickly, I pulled out the bag and let the dust drop in as a pencil dropped against the floor. Picking it up, I write _Alex_ on the upper-left corner of the back. 

"And then it has to be FROM the High Priestess."

I searched in the rectangle until I found _High Priestess_ on the backs of Tristen and Tyler's photos respectively. I wrote their names on the back.

"And my intuition is telling me that, since _Signed, Yours,_ and _Sincerely_ all begin with capital letters, and those are usually how you end a letter, that has to go right before _High Priestess._ "

I placed Sunny, and Hazel's photos before them.

"But _Signed Yours Sincerely, High Priestess_ seems so informal. There's gotta be something that goes in between. But what?"

I decided to flip over each one keeping track before my brain noticed something else.

"I can't really think of any other phrase where the word _full_ would be used other than _full moon._ "

Putting those together, I noticed those were Stella and Parriss's photos.

"But there has to be something

My eyes fell on Timothy's photo. Flipping it over, the word _the_ was on the back. I placed it in before the word _High._

" _Signed Yours Sincerely, the High Priestess._ In other words, Teala, Sunny, Hazel, Timothy, Tristen, and Tyler."

It took me some time, but soon I spelt out my doom: 

_Circe,_

_On the night of the full moon, bring Mystic to the coven’s meeting. At exactly the stroke of midnight, she shall become the vessel for my soul. Alice the familiar must not interfere with the ritual under any circumstances. Signed Yours Sincerely, the High Priestess._


	48. Lady of the Coven, Part 6: Here's Circe!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Uh oh. Trouble alert.

My blood ran cold. Circe was going to send me to get possessed?!? By the High Priestess of a coven? But, hang on. That didn't add up. Candy Pop said she went AGAINST the coven. 

"This doesn't make sense, and there are few things unexplained."

"Like what?"

"What about the Duplication Orb?" I asked Candy Pop.

"You've got the message decoded," he told me.  
"Now you can put that and the orb together."

"Uh, no, I really can't," I chuckled nervously.  
"If there's a connection, it's a really abstract one."

He gave a sigh.

"I guess you'd have to know a bit about Circe's backstory to be able to piece the two together."

"What's her backstory?"

"When she joined her coven, she didn't know that the witches had a strict policy on family; you couldn't start one. But Circe, being a Southern Belle, wanted to start one so badly. She wanted a family of 'little birds,' it's what she calls children. She wanted to pass on a legacy, should she get killed. 

"Apparently there was a girl the coven sent out to trick Circe into luring her in, to see if she was loyal to her Southern Belle culture or to her coven. The girl became too much for her to handle, so she killed her. But the coven never got word of it. Matter of fact, it seemed like they forgot the girl entirely. But nonetheless, Circe became a bloodstain, and if the coven found out, that'd be the end of her.

"Because of the girl, and knowing that the coven'd want a virgin to possess during a full moon meeting, she created that orb. It clones you, but in exchange, you lose parts of yourself, which get transferred to the clone. The thing is, Circe can choose which parts she wants you to keep and which to give to the clone as well as what to add to you. See where I'm going with this?"

I did. And I was scared half to death. She could essentially reprogram me entirely, like a computer, make me the perfect daughter. I'd forget everything.

"And the clone?"

"The clone would be the end of the coven. See, a High Priestess can't take over half a soul. They need the whole thing, otherwise she, and those still loyal to her, dissolve to dust. So by splitting your personality in half, she kills two squirrels with one stone."

"Don't you mean two BIRDS with one stone?"

He shook his head.

"She adores birds too much."

"But what about the Cursed God?"

"Oh, she's not afraid of him," he scoffed.  
"On the contrary, HE is scared of HER."

"Why? She seems so nice and sweet."

"Which is exactly why he's scared of her. The Cursed God's more upfront with his feelings and intentions. But Circe's perfected the art of deception to such a degree that he can't tell which emotions are real and which aren't for her."

"Is there someone who she's afraid of?"

He gave this some rumination.

"There IS one. Lilith Divola, she works with the Cursed God."

Lilith Divola......why'd that name sound familiar?

"Why is she afraid of her?"

"Lilith is a dark entity of her own. She's an alternate side of someone else. Her magic's more limited to those entities because they aren't fully human. Trouble is, Lilith wants you for her own as well."

"Oh, for fuck's sake!" I groaned.  
"What happened to just killing the hero?"

"Oh hon," a Southern dialect oozed with condescension.  
"It's not gonna happen to you."

We both turned and jumped in fright to see her in a long black gown, smirking.

"Cause you're not the hero; you're the ingenue."

Circe Jones.


	49. Lady of the Coven, Part 7: Blue Roses and Honey

"Well, well, well," she chuckled as she stepped inside, carrying a kettle and some cups.

We began to tremble in fear as she stepped forward, hovering over us. But just when we thought she was gonna nearly swallow us whole.

"Why, hello there!" she greeted "Alice" with a sweet smile.  
"Aren't you just a sweetie! Good things I brought more than two cups. Now everyone can enjoy some nice sweet tea."

That definitely threw him for a loop, but only for a few seconds.

"Don't play that card with me, you wench!" he spat at her.  
"I know your tricks."

She giggled innocently.

"That's cause you used to help me with them, Alice. How are you likin' your new form, dear? Not that much, I suspect. You missin' bein' a bird?"

"I'm not even Alice," he scoffed.

"Don't be such a silly," she denied as she set the tea tray on the drawers.  
"Of course you are! Now you two just HAVE to try this sweet tea."

He was left speechless as she poured the tea. I was both entranced and confused. 

"I've recently become interested in dialect-changin' teas. And where better to begin than my own?"

Hearing this, my face and eyes lit up like a Christmas tree as I jumped up onto the bed. Candy Pop gave me a glare that made me feel a bit attacked

"I knew YOU'D be intrigued, dearie," Circe giggled as she lightly tapped my nose, making me beam.  
"But I've made THIS one more specific to you. See, it'd be a bit odd for you to have such a mature voice with such a youthful face, so I went less for an Amanda and more for a Laura."

That couldn't have been a coincidence. Even though Candy Pop looked incredibly confused, I knew exactly what she meant, as I became even happier upon hearing this.

"Laura Wingfield is my dream role," I sighed in such a dreamy way that I knew it'd leave Ro in stitches from how adorable it was.  
"And _The Glass Menagerie_ is my favorite play!"

"Why then, you are goin' to love the name of this sweet tea, sweetie," Circe fawned sitting beside me with a hot cup.  
"Blue Roses and honey."

I eagerly reached out for the tea.

"Don't drink it," Candy Pop growled.  
"It's probably poisoned."

Circe looked rather hurt by this remark, and to be honest, I was as well. 

"Me? Poison this darlin' little angel?" she gasped as she gave me a small peck on the forehead, making me blush.  
"Now where on earth did you get such a silly idea like that?"

"From what you did to that girl sixteen years ago!"

"That poor girl? Oh, she collapsed from exhaustion," she replied without even a waver in her speech.

"That's not true. I KNOW you killed her, and you've killed so many others as well!"

"Oh, poor Alice," she sighed as she handed me the cup.  
"You must be so confused and lost from your time away from me."

I took a sip and a subtle but sweet taste of rose water and honey hit my tongue and flowed gently down my throat. I suddenly felt a bit of a shift in my vocal cords.

"It's alright, Alice," I spoke, and gasped upon hearing my voice. 

It came out as a sweet, soft, youthful Southern dialect.

"It worked!" 

I set the cup down and embraced Circe.

"Circe's quite kind," I assured her.  
"Maybe a bit of tea'll help."

All of a sudden, I began to feel a bit sleepy.

"You alright, darlin'?" she asked me. 

I nodded.

"Just a bit tired is all."

"Well, it's no surprise," she gasped.  
"It's near midnight. You really should be headin' off to dreamland."

"Alright," I sighed.  
"But can I have just a little more tea? Please?"

I gave her my best doe eyes. Smiling endearingly, she put her hand over her heart.

"Oh, how I can say no to such a sweet and innocent little face?"

I drank some more tea and as I did, I felt more and more as ease. Soon enough I was under the covers and drifting off.

* * *

Once she was asleep, Circe gave Mystic another peck on the forehead.

"Why, isn't she simply darlin'," she sighed sweetly.  
"She'll make the perfect daughter."

By this time, Candy Pop had had enough.

"No more playing games, Circe!" he growled.  
"I KNOW you killed that girl sixteen years ago, and I know you've killed many others."

She turned on him, folding her arms.

"I see you haven't changed much, Candy Pop," she smirked, changing her tone almost entirely from sweet to villainous, throwing him for a loop.

"How did you.....?" he stammered in disbelief.

"Silly boy, do you really believe I'm that dense? I AM the Queen of Deception, after all. There isn't anyone I can trick. Even YOU thought I had you confused."

"What do you want with Mystic?"

"You already figured that out," she sniffed.  
"The coven wants their virgin so badly; they'll have her, but that'll be the last virgin they ever possess. I want a daughter of my own, but one that's not a handful. But this one's sweet enough already. I would just need to make a few changes, take the clone to the coven's meetin', and leave before they turn to dust."

"You're an evil woman."

"It's all about perspective. To you I'm the worst woman to exist. But to this sweet little lark."

She gestured to Mystic.

"I'm like a mother to her."

"And you know----"

"All too well," she growled.  
"And he's NOT gettin' her. And neither are you."

She began to mutter something under her breath; Candy Pop tried to get away, but a black curtain covered his vision and his consciousness was stolen. He was out cold.


	50. Lady of the Coven, Part 8: Spirits and Surprises.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And more death!

My vision took time to come to. When it did, I was back there in that mindscape. Celeste and a few others were staring down at me.

"Took you long enough," Togami scoffed.

"Nice to see you as well," I grumbled as I stood up.

"Seems like running away didn't go so well, huh?" Lydia Scamander asked sheepishly.

I shook my head.

"But hey, the woman who took me in seems nice, so I've at least got that going for me."

Togami face-palmed as Toko spoke.

"N-nice?" she stammered in disbelief.  
"That's a laugh. She's the worst."

"Don't you think you're overreacting a bit? I mean, sure she may be a little strange, but that doesn't make her evil."

"She's worse that just 'a little strange,' Himiko warned.  
"She's downright diabolical!"

"I concur," Togami said.  
"Even I find her rather disturbing. Aside from luring her victims into her house, she has no consistent modus-operandi. An unpredictable villain is both an intriguing and exceptionally-dangerous villain."

"Even I would not bet my life on her being kind to me," Celeste chimed in. 

"The only one of us who isn't scared of her," Kaito Momota exclaimed.  
"Seems to be Maki Roll."

"No," Maki exclaimed.  
"I AM scared of her. In this world, magic truly exists, and even though we are considered entities, we are closer to human than Lilith is, meaning her magic has just as much of an effect on us as it does on you."

"You all sound just like Candy Pop," I chuckled.

They stared at me in frustration. 

"How about we let someone closer to her side of morality give you the lowdown?" Toko sighed as she pulled out her stun gun. 

Pulling the trigger, she almost instantaneously switched into the scissor-wielding maniac.

"Hey, hey! Welcome back, you naive lil bitch!" Genocider Jill laughed.  
"Looks like you got yourself a little feathered up with that eyepecker!"

"What? What do you mean?" I exclaimed.

"I believe she is referring to Circe Jones," Celeste clarified. 

"I get that. She's the one who took me in, but we can't possibly be talking about the same person, right?"

"Try again, sweetheart!" Genocider cackled.  
"Circe's a downright nasty piece of a clit. Even I don't like t' approach her!"

"Why? What's she done that's so terrible?"

"Didn't Candy Pop tell you all of this?" Kokichi Oma groaned frustratedly.  
"The message on the backs of the photographs, the backstory?"

"So that wasn't some sort of fever dream?"

"NO!" everyone exclaimed.

It sunk in and it was apparent on my face.

"Shit. But what am I supposed to do?"

"Stay calm," Kyoto Kirigiri advised me.  
"We're gonna contact Jael and the others to take you somewhere safe."

"I don't wanna be safe!" I snapped.  
"I wanna be surprised."

"It's not standard---"

"Fuck your standards!" I nearly screamed.  
"I'm done with being confined and trapped. I'm done with people telling me what to do and who to be; even the Society's been doing that. I can't be tied down and not even you, Kyoto Motherfuckin' Kirigiri, are gonna stop me from running away again!"

"But Circe's a different story," Kaede cautioned me.  
"She's manipulative and conniving. Plus she's got you captive right now. When you wake up, you're gonna be inside of a cage."

"Fuck," I growled as I dropped to the ground.  
"And if what I've heard is true, it stands to reason that it's a birdcage."

"Ding ding ding!" Genocider Jill shrieked.  
"We've got a winner, everybody! Give this doll a cigar!"

"I really don't need this right now. I'm stuck with a manipulative witch and a demon named Candy Pop."

"Well, if you'd believed all of this before," Kokichi scoffed knowingly.  
"You wouldn't be in this mess. God, you're so naive. You trust every stranger you meet. No wonder you gotta be protected."

As he spoke, something inside of me-that anger I'd suppressed for so long, the deepest bits of it-seemed to click on. Fire roared through my veins. My palms tensed up, clenching into fists, as I began to see red. Slowly I stood up.

"It's probably better that you're stuck in that cage. Once she changes you, you'll be where you're supposed to be. After all, girls are meant to stay in the home and be quiet and pretty."

With my head down, fire radiating from me, I strode up to the fucker.

"Look at you," he cackled.  
"You can't even fight me cuz you're too scared to. You're weak. You're too sweet to fight any-----"

And soon enough, Kokichi was cut short by my fist. It rocketed at the side of his nose with the force of a machine gun bullet. I heard something crack within 

"Shut your goddamn mouth, Oma!" I hissed venomously as he stumbled.   
"Or I'll shut it for you. Permanently."

He was taken aback; his hand went to his nose and then back down. There was blood, quite a bit of it. Seeing this, I felt a small sense of pride, but I also felt angry. I trusted someone and as we spoke, they were stabbing me in the fucking back. I had to step up.

"I'm sick of people like you placing those fucking labels on me. From now on, the only label I wanna be called is my damn name, and if you ever call me weak again, I swear to God I WILL kill you, slice you into bits, and feed you to a horde of rabid wolves. You fucking get me, Cockichi?"

And then the weirdest thing happened; in spite of me decking him him, Kokichi smiled. A rather mischievous and villainous smile, but a proud one.

"Alright!" he exclaimed loudly and excitedly, jumping and pumping his fist in the air.  
"Now THAT'S the Mystic we need! Now all you gotta do is step up in the real world. I mean, don't do what you just did to me to everyone, but stand up for yourself, for your own destiny. Never go down without a good fight. Use both that anger and your intelligence. We believe in you."

Suddenly the mindscape turned dark.

"I'm still gonna contact the Society to come and get you," Kyoko told me calmly.

"No!" 

But I was over shrouded by a curtain of darkness.

* * *

Several jolts of electricity echoed in my ears as I woke up. Even though I was dazed, the rage I felt from the mindscape awoke with me. I didn't wanna be a follower anymore. I didn't wanna be passive. I didn't wanna be dependent on people anymore. I wanted to be active in my destiny.

One problem; I was in a bird cage. Being trapped in a bird cage is part of my greatest fear.

"Hey!" I yelled out, the tea having worn off.  
"Circe, where are you?"

There was no response.

"Circe!" I called out again just as I heard a stirring in the cage beside me.

It was Candy Pop, but he was still waking up. I shook my head. We had to get out. Now.

"Hey!" I whispered harshly as I tried to reach out to slap him.  
"Wake up, fucker!"

Hearing this from me, his eyes shot open.

"What was that for?"

"Where's Circe?"

"Hell if I know!"

"Good, then we're getting out of here."

I looked around my person until I saw the teastone bag high on a shelf.

"Damn it," I muttered furiously before turning back to Candy Pop.  
"Dude, check your hair."

"Why should I? You're not the boss of me."

"Check. Your fucking. Hair," I hissed angrily.  
"Unless you wanna be stuck in her body forever."

That gave him incentive.

"Okay, okay!" he conceded as he checked around.  
"What am I looking for exactly?"

"C'mon, Pop," I snarked.   
"You're a smart cookie. You can figure this out. Just give it a whirl."

If looks could kill, I wasn't sure who should be dead; him or me. Nonetheless he kept checking and finally he pulled something out.

"A bobby pin!" I exclaimed.  
"Perfect."

"Now what?"

"What the hell do you think, genius?" I scoffed.  
"Put two and two together."

"You need to watch your attitude, little lady," he condescended.  
"Sweet girls don't talk back---"

"Talk to me like that again, and I'll make sure your spirit stays stuck in a Bible."

It almost seemed like this made him put two-and-two together. He fiddled around and finally it clicked, the door swinging open.

"Okay, now me."

With the promise of me sticking his spirit in a Bible branded in his brain, he handed me the bobby pin. I heard a click and my door swung open.

"Next," I exclaimed as I stepped out.  
"The bag. Gimme a boost."

"Why?"

"Bible."

Immediately he squat down and I stepped on his shoulders. 

"Little higher," I told him.

Sure enough, just a few inches later, my hand grasped the bag. I took out a teastone.

"I wish the teastones that end up in this bag only work for me unless I give someone willing and genuine permission to use them."

Gold.....you get it by now. I quickly opened the bag and let the dust fall in before taking out a second stone. 

"I wish that the Duplication Orb was teleported to the middle of the ocean furthest away from here."

All of a sudden, we heard a shriek from several floors up.

"My orb!" Circe wailed.

Quickly I pulled out another.

"I wish Circe couldn't use magic to bring the orb back."

Not a moment later, we heard a frustrated roar that would give a banshee a run for her money. We heard footsteps running towards the basement, but I was already prepared.

"I wish Circe was confined to the top floor of her house."

And another scream.

"I'm gonna kill you, you little brat boy!" she snarled like a wild animal.  
"You hear me? I'll kill you!"

"At this rate, we're gonna need to find more teastones," Candy Pop scoffed. 

"We will later," I told him authoritatively.  
"Right now, we need to check her cauldron."

We rushed upstairs.

"Hello?" she called out as she came over to the stair railing.  
"Mystic, sweetie? Is that you? Oh thank the lord! Can you help mother out pretty please?"

"Up yours!" I spat.

This apparently took her aback.

"Now, sweetheart," she chided condescendingly.  
"That's not how little girls are supposed to talk."

"Fuck off, you bitch!" I hissed back as I stepped towards the cauldron.  
"I know who you really are, and we're taking something I should've grabbed last night."

"What?" she shrieked.  
"No, not my token! That's what's keeping him away! Please, Mystic. Sweetheart. Just leave that alone. I promise I won't use the orb on you. Just please. Stay with me. Be my sweet little girl. We could be so happy together."

I looked down at the bottom of the cauldron, blocking out her condescending and frightened threats. Sure enough, there was a gold token with the word _Everlock_ carved onto it. In the center was a witch's hat. Immediately I snatched it up and dropped it in my bag. As soon as I did, she screamed.

"Put that back! You don't know what you just di--"

She trailed off as her face turned snow white. At the bottom of the stairs was a pale woman of about maybe 18 years of age.

"Guinevere," she squeaked.

The ghost girl looked up at her with furious eyes as other ghost boys and girls glided beside her.

"We've had enough of your tricks, Circe," she snapped.  
"And now that that token's in the right hands, it's time for you to burn."

She snapped her fingers and a scream erupted from Circe. Nearby a fire began to burn, closing in on her. 

"Wait," I exclaimed as I turned to Guinevere.  
"What if we--?"

I whispered something in her ear. I could tell she was interested.

"I see," she remarked.  
"Seems fitting."

Snapping her fingers, we looked out to her backyard to see a gravestone appearing and the ground below it sinking into a rectangle. All of a sudden, an open coffin appeared beside it and then---

"Please!" she cried, tears coming to her eyes.  
"Not that! Please don't put me in that."

I looked up at her and my heart hurt a little. Even if she WAS the Queen of Deception, I could tell that those were real tears. I tuned back to Guinevere and whispered.

"Well, if you insist," she sighed.

With a snap of her fingers, Circe's eyes shut and she laid down on the ground. Another snap of her fingers, and Circe began to turn to ash, floating out the door and into the air, but a small cloud of it passed my ear, whispering _Thank you, darlin'._

And I knew that this was genuine. 

"She's gone," Candy Pop sighed solemnly.

"Yeah," I agreed despondently.

"But you're one step closer to taking down the Cursed God," Guinevere pointed out.  
"Unfortunately, it's the same with Guinevere."

This took me by surprise and confusion, but before I could say anything, one of the ghost boys gave me a bottle.

"This should explain everything," Guinevere told me.

We started to walk out the door, but we realized we were several people short. Turning around we saw the ghost kids waving at us.

"You're not coming with us?" I asked sadly.

Guinevere shook her head.

"Our souls were bound to this property because of that woman. Even though she's dead, we can't follow you. We have to go to the afterlife. Don't worry. Keep moving forward."

Before I could give a proper goodbye, they all faded away.

* * *

We stepped outside of the gingerbread house, which was now crumbling into ash. By then the sun was just coming up.Candy Pop and I took a look at each other.

"We got one of the tokens," I smiled sadly.  
"One step closer to freedom."

He nodded.

"Maybe we should look at the note," he suggested.

I nodded and popped open the cork, letting the scroll fall out before letting it unroll and reading it to myself. And when I did, my heart dropped.

"No," I gasped.

"What is it?" Candy Pop asked worried.

Taking a deep breath, I read aloud.

_If you are reading this, you have found one of the seven tokens of Everlock. This one is a freebie, I suppose you could say. Unfortunately, the rest will require your own sacrifices. In order to obtain the other tokens, someone will have to die._


	51. A Solo Journey for an Introvert, Part 6: Run-Off

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We're possibly gonna get another "level," like "Mad As A Hatter" and "Lady of the Coven." Take a guess what it's gonna involve:
> 
> Is it?  
> A. A faerie.  
> B. A Phantom.  
> C. A vampire.  
> D. The North Pole.  
> E. Death.

What? Death? So this was gonna be exactly like _Escape the Night_? 

"She said seven tokens in total," I noted.  
"So that means six more people have to die? Hell no!"

I threw the bottle down and walked in the other direction. I didn't bother to look behind me, even as Candy Pop's footsteps shuffled up.

"Wha--Where are you going?"

"None of your business," I spat bitterly. 

"Christ, when'd you get so bossy?" he grumbled.

"Bossy?" I growled.  
"BOSSY? Who was the one who told me to figure that picture shit out? You want me to take initiative and so I am. Goodbye."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa," he tried to grab my wrist but I pulled away.  
"We had a deal."

"Yeah? So? The deal's post-phoned. Once things settle down and I find a way to keep everyone from dying."

"Then why are you leaving?" 

"So no one has to die, dipshit."

"Do you wanna marry the Cursed God?"

"At this point, I just want to be alone!!!!"

Lunging out, I bit down on his arm, giving me some time to run off, not daring to look back.

* * *

Candy Pop lurched back as he felt Mystic's teeth sink into his arm. The bite was sharp, fang-sharp.

_Damn, is she part vampire?_

He'd thought she'd be easier to handle than this. 

Not a moment after, footsteps came running up. Glancing up, still grasping his arm, he saw the Society, the writers, and the guests approach him.

"Where's Mystic?" JC asked.

Sucking air through his teeth as the pain radiated through his arm, he tried to get the words out.

"She.......ran......ran off."

"Are you kidding me?" Nikita groaned.  
"We're trying to help her and she's running away?"

"On our end, however," Jael piped up.  
"We have some good news. We've managed to calm down Safiya."

She stepped aside to see that, indeed, Saf was back to normal.

"What the hell was causing her to act like that?" he wondered.

"We believe it was a spell from the Cursed God," Calliope suggested. 

All of a sudden, Alison ran over to the pile of now-ash. Picking it up, she examined it intensely.

"She's collected a token," she gasped.

"Finally!" Matt exclaimed excitedly.

"Bad news, however," Candy Pop told them.  
"The coven's supposed to meet tonight."

"We know," Ryu assured him.  
"We're working to keep them restrained, but it will be difficult. On the full moon, magic is at its most powerful. Roughly two or three full moons after will be the Blood Moon, where magic can transcend convention."

"Some more bad news. Someone has to die for us to get the tokens."

The writers glanced at each other, not sure whether to feel excited or afraid.

"This is exactly like _Escape the Night,_ " Nora pointed out.

"Yeah, no shit," Ines exclaimed.  
"So now how many of us have to die?"

"There are seven tokens. The witch's token was a free pass," Calliope explained.  
"At least six more of us need to die."

"I think the traitor should be the first to die," Ciel suggested.

"But we don't even KNOW who the traitor IS!" Kasey groaned.

"Um, I don't mean to be THAT person," Sunny interrupted.  
"But Mystic could be miles away from us by now."

Immediately Sunny started running off, followed by Ciel and then the others, leaving Candy Pop behind.

"Oh sure, just abandon me, that's fine," he scoffed as he trekked behind, unaware they were being watched in the bushes.


	52. An Eternal Opera, Part 1: A Parisien Downpour

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mystic gets caught in a downpour and wishes herself to the nearest shelter. When she arrives, she learns that this shelter may not be so safe for her.

I trekked through the forest for what seemed like years, my feet throbbing within my combat boots and my legs aching. I didn't care, though. Some stupid entity was trying to turn this into a real-life version of _Escape the Night._ With death, pain, agony, despair, the whole fucking package. But I wasn't about to let that happen. If they wanted to kill my friends, they would have to go through me. 

As the morning turned to high noon, in between hunting for more teastones (which yes, I did find quite a few), I felt the air grow colder around me. Glancing up, I was shocked to see that the sky had also darkened to a gloomy overcast where once stood a sun. There was going to be rain. I could smell it. The next thing I knew, I felt a drop on my head. Then another fell in front of me. And another. And another. Until I felt a tremendous downpour. 

Thunder crackled and lightning struck. Well, at least it seemed that way. I had to squint my eyes to see even a foot in front of me. All I could make out were the quick flashes of light when a bolt struck the ground or a tree in front of me. Fumbling through my bag, I pulled out a stone.

"I wish I was in front of the nearest building that would provide me shelter."

A golden flash enveloped me. Once I had reoriented myself on the ground, I rushed inside and slammed the door shut. My suit was dripping wet and sticking to my skin. My glasses were coated in raindrops, obscuring my vision somewhat, My hair was a sopping mess of dark locks. Overall I felt absolutely disgusting. 

Like a pup, I shook myself, just to get even a tiny amount of water. I took my glasses off, grabbing the shirt to wipe them dry when I remembered that that was ALSO sopping wet. 

"Oh mon Dieu! Est-ce que ça va?" 

It was a woman's voice. I saw a silhouette in a white dancer's outfit rushing towards me. I felt her arm around my shoulders and the next thing I knew, she was escorting me somewhere.

"Ma chérie, c'est dangereux dehors maintenant! Vous devez faire attention dans une telle tempête, surtout avec vos lunettes. Nous devons vous procurer des vêtements secs maintenant!"

I felt quite off-balance, both physically and mentally. Not only was I being escorted to Dieu-sait- où,  I had forgotten a substantial amount of French, even if I had taken two years in high school AND two semesters in college. But who could blame me? That final semester was homework every night, class at ten am every single day, and the professor was gone for a few consecutive weeks. 

"Um, parlez-vous anglais?" I asked hopefully.

"Oui," the figure replied.  
"Pourquoi?"

"Because I've forgotten quite a bit of my French from my classes."

The figure gasped and spoke up in a heavy dialect.

"I'm so sorry! I sought you were a fellow Parisian. Zat assumption was my fault."

"No worries," I shrugged.  
"But by any chance do you have a towel?"

"Ah, non," she sighed before gasping in realization.  
"But I do 'ave zis 'andkerchief!"

Without warning, my glasses were taken from my face. Everything around me was rather blurry, but I saw what looked to be a lot of white or bronze marble with gold lining it. 

"Zere you are, my dear," she announced before placing them back on my face. 

Once I could fully see again, I saw a rather beautiful woman with ebony skin, dressed in a white ballerina dress, white tights, and white pointe shoes. I was rather taken aback by the sheer beauty in front of my face. I lost my breath, my heart fluttering. 

"Are you alright?"

I blinked rapidly. 

"Oh, pardon me," I laughed apologetically.  
"Your beauty......I was just......I got stunned into silence."

She smiled sweetly.

"Merci beaucoup. Zat was very sweet of you to say."

She gave me a twirl and a curtsey.

"My name is Adeline. And you are called?"

"Mystic," I replied automatically.

Hearing this, she gasped and covered her mouth.

"Non," she gasped quietly.  
"Not ZE ETN Mystique. Say it is not so!"

I was taken aback by this response.

"I.....am," I puzzled.

She ushered me over to the large white stairs in a huddle.

"Why, if zis is true," she whispered harshly.   
"Zen you are in grave danger!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Questions:   
> Where am I?  
> Why do you think Adeline claims I'm in danger in this place?


	53. Meanwhile....

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things get meta.

While Mystic was speaking with Adeline, the rest of the group was on the search. Well, most of them, at least. The writers were busy discussing theories, as this was now like _Escape the Night,_ with Nora leading the discussion. The agents were contacting allies in the hopes of finding Mystic. And Candy Pop? Still getting left behind as usual, but this time it was deliberate. He was searching rocks and plants, anywhere with dirt, to see if he could find a teastone or two. But he kept coming up empty.

"She must've gotten to them first," he grumbled frustrated. 

"Alice, honey!" Colleen called out for the billionth time.  
"Quit lagging behind. We're not planning on waiting for you."

 _Oh my God. Can you just SHUT THE HELL UP?_ he thought angrily.

He didn't bother correcting her, though. He had to make them think he was Alice, at least until he could get out of this body.

_The things I do for these humans._

All of a sudden, he felt a drop of rain. He looked up and, to his surprise, noticed that the sky had turned incredibly dark and gloomy. And then, out of nowhere, a downpour.

_Great. This is EXACTLY what I need right now._

"It's a downpour!" Manny called out.

_No shit, Sherlock!_

All of a sudden, Jael pulled out a rather large umbrella and opened it. It expanded over the entire area where they were, and revealed more of the surrounding area. 

"Does my makeup totally suck now?" Manny fretted.

"Honey, you're fine," Nikita assured him.  
"Water's got nothing on us."

"So where do we go from here?" Ro asked.

Jael gave this some thought. 

"There should be a city nearby with shelter. If I'm right, Mystic might be there."

"Then let's go!" Glozell exclaimed.  
"I don't wanna get soaked anymore than I already am."

"Wait!" Nora called out.  
"I think we've almost got it."

"Got what?" Candy Pop asked hopefully.

"The OTP for this season of _Escape the Night,_ " Stella tweeted eagerly.

If it was just Candy Pop alone with the writers, he would've strangled them right there and then.

"Can't you use your theory knowledge to figure out this fucking plot line?" he nearly screamed.

"We're writers, not psychics," Ines reminded him.  
"All we can do is theorize. Until we get more info."

"And then?"

"We theorize some more. Wait. You should know this, Alice."

The writers eyed him suspiciously. 

"Why are you acting so clueless?" Taylor questioned.

"What's the OTP for this season?" he argued.

The writers stared at each other, confused.

"Well," Ciel piped up.  
"We managed to pull together quite a few of them. There's HoracexPenelope, SafiyaxMystic, RosannaxMystic."

"AndreaRxMystic," Kasey continued.  
"ShanexTacoBell---"

"That's my OTP," Shane piped up.

"ShanexDumpster."

"Never mind! THAT'S my OTP. Ooh, wait, can we do a three-way?"

"Already got ShanexDumpsterxTacoBell down," Sunny noted.

"Wait. Is it gonna get a fanfic?"

The writers shrugged.

"We do also have 'The Forbidden Ship,'" Taylor piped up.  
"CursedGodxMystic."

"Shh!" Nora shushed harshly.  
"We never speak the name of 'The Forbidden Ship!'"

"Fear of the name only increases fear for the thing itself," Penelope informed them.

"Well, we have good reason to be afraid of that pairing," Montana retorted.  
"If that becomes canon, reality is done for."

"What about EnvyxCalvin?" Candy Pop asked absentmindedly.

Hearing this, the others turned to him.

"Who?" Kasey exclaimed.

"How do you know about Envy?" Safiya eyed him suspiciously.

This is where Candy Pop had his "shit-I-fucked-up" moment.

"I'm not part of the agency, so I know he exists," he blathered out quickly.

"I don't buy it," Taylor growled.  
"I'm starting to think you're keeping secrets from us. In fact, maybe YOU'RE the traitor."

There was a moment of silence before someone spoke up.

"I'm sorry. What?" JC asked.

"Oh, it was a plot point that was brought up, probably, 30 chapters ago," Ines shrugged off.  
"One of us is, apparently, working for the Cursed God and was sent to sabotage us."

"Can we please just go now?" Stella whined.  
"This is just becoming a filler chapter to help enrich a story based off of this one."

Everyone blinked, confused.

"What drugs are you on?" Erica asked.

"And where can I get them?" Dooper wondered eagerly.

"Never mind," Stella huffed as she began to walk ahead.  
"Let's just go."

And the others followed suit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Curse my ADD.


	54. An Eternal Opera, Part 2: Entering and then Breaking.

I stared at Adeline with a mixture of fear and confusion. I felt as though I should have been desensitized to that little tidbit that everyone seemed to be telling me, but nope. It kept getting me EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. 

"How?" I gulped scared to know the answer.

"I wish to not tell you," she sighed.

_Well, you brought it up._

"But we 'ave a tenant of zis opera 'ouse. 'e 'as been asking to 'ear you sing for months."

"Don't tell me," I groaned.  
"Is he an Opera Ghost?"

"I'm afraid so."

"So that's putting me in danger how?"

"'E is obsessed wis 'earing your voice. 'E wants to know if it's as good as ze Cursed God claims, but I'm afraid zat if 'e 'ears you sing, you will become 'is obsession, or as 'e says it, ze object of 'is affections. And 'e will stop at nosing to 'ave ze object of 'is affections all to 'imself."

How the hell is any of this still surprising me? 

All of a sudden, I was interrupted by a loud YEET! and someone face-planting on the double doors.

_Dooper, what the actual hell?_

Groaning, I immediately hid. 

"What is it?" Adeline asked.

"It's these people who are trying to find me cuz they don't understand what it means to want to be alone and independent for a change."

She came in close and whispered to me. 

"'Ead into ze stage area to ze left and zen go anozer left. You should find ze ladies' dressing room wis a bas robe. Put it on and zen I will meet you. I will distract zem for you."

Adeline headed towards the doors and opened a little head hole.

"'Allo? 'Ooh is it?"

While they were distracted with her, I got up and snuck out into the stage area.

* * *

"'Allo? 'Ooh is it?" Adeline asked.

Everyone looked at each other in realization.

"Yeah, we're definitely in Paris," Ines confirmed.

"Oui! You are indeed in Paris, France!" Adeline chirped happily, talking both a mile a minute and as slow as a snail.  
"Ozerwise know as ze City of Love! And what a lovely city it is, is it not? I must tell you all zis; you are very lucky ze storm 'as now stopped. Ze scenery 'ere is magnifique. We 'ave a ton of cute little shoppes zat you can explore, wis little trinkets for sale. Oh, and I must insist you go to one of our many cafes, pâtisseries, and boulangeries. As a matter of fact, I strongly suggest you go to one of my favorite places, Aki Boulanger at 16 Rue Sainte-Anne; it is not too far from zis beloved Palais Garnier. Zey 'ave some of ze best japanese sweets---"

"That's all well and good, but we need to come in," Safiya interrupted in a serious tone.

Adeline was taken aback.

"Mademoiselle, we do not allow early arrivals for ze opera. Ze next show is not until tonight during ze full moon. If you wish, I can see if we 'ave available seats."

"No, I think you misunderstood me. We're looking for someone and we think she may be here."

"Someone? A lady someone, you say? What is 'er name?"

"Mystic," Ro replied.

Adeline pretended to think this over. 

"Mystique.....Mystique.......hmmm. Non, I do not believe I know 'o you are talking about."

There were a few moments of silence as they proc

"Something tells me you're lying to us," Penelope eyed her suspiciously.

"Lying?" she gasped.  
"Mademoiselle, I would never!"

"Where's Mystic?" Nikita spat venomously.

"I 'ave told you already. I don't know 'o you mean!"

Adeline played up the emotion a little.

"Look," Jael spoke up calmly.  
"All we want to do is simply to look around. We're figuring that maybe there's a chance we'll run into her."

Once again, she pretended to think this over.

"Well, if it is a tour you are requesting, zen I can see if I can find a time in ze near future---"

"We don't have that kind of time!" Colleen snapped.  
"We need to get in there now!"

"I cannot get you in 'ere now. We are re'earsing."

"Look, just stop with your petty-ass lies," Nikita hissed.  
"And fucking let us in!"

"Non!" Adeline snapped back, startling them.  
"If you insist on being so disrespectful, zen you cannot enter ze opera 'ouse at all! Au revoir!"

She slammed and locked the hole shut, pretending to walk away but bending down to listen in on their conversation.

_"---kicked us out. Now we'll never get inside!" Stella panicked._

_Jael gave a sound of contemplation._

_"We might be able to. There's a vent shaft that can take us inside. Follow me!"_

As soon as she heard and saw them leave, she knew exactly where it was they were going.

* * *

Adeline shifted through the dusty vent shaft. It wasn't a terribly claustrophobic situation, but she knew that if all of them were inside at once, then hell would break loose.

Soon enough she heard them.

_"---that ballerina woman catches us?" Ines wondered._

_"We'll be fine," Jesse scoffed.  
"She's not gonna wanna get her nice little dress all dirty."_

_"I think we're almost there," Alison replied as they turned the corner to face a smirking Adeline._

"'Allo, les juveniles," she greeted them.

All of a sudden, they heard the creak of falling metal and the cracking of it in half. Soon enough, they all landed inside of the ladies' dressing room. They hear a high-pitched scream and a figure darted behind a privacy curtain. Candy Pop charged over to the privacy curtain, preparing to tear it open, but Adeline held him back.

"What are you doing?" she exclaimed angrily.  
"Ze lady is trying to dress 'erself!"

"We just think----" Candy Pop tried to clarify.

"Non!"

"But if we look---!" Nora defended.

"Non!"

"But that could be---!" Erica steamed.

"NON, NON, et NON!" Adeline snapped, infuriated.  
"Not only 'ave you compromised ze privacy and safety of our performers, you 'ave attempted to break into ze opera 'ouse, even zough I 'ad told you zat you were not allowed in. And now sanks to your attempt at breaking and entering, you 'ave broken our air vent! Ze managers will be expecting you to pay full compensation for your destruction of property, but until you do, get out!"

"But---" JC blathered.

"MAINTENANT!" she shrieked violently. 

Shaken, the group was led to the doors of the opera house, which were then unceremoniously slammed shut behind them.


	55. An Eternal Opera, Part 3: Le spectacle doit continuer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Mystic has to decide in staying hidden and letting a company possibly go bankrupt

While Adeline rushed the group out, I peeked out from the privacy curtain, the dressing room on, but quickly darted back when I saw one of them turn around. I decided to wait until the footsteps faded before peeking back out. With no one in sight, I breathed a sigh of relief and decided to explore the Dressing Room. 

Mirrors had been placed all around the walls. But there was one in particular that caught my attention; an ornate mirror carved by what seemed to be the Hand of God within its golden framing. However that wasn't what stood out. It was the mirror itself. It looked to have more depth to it, almost as if I could just.....step.....through.....it....

"Mystique!"

Hearing this, I stopped, lowering my foot back down as Adeline gasped.

"Step back!" she warned me.  
"Stay far away from zat mirror!"

Once again, I was utterly confused. And at this point, it might as well have been the title of my autobiography.

"Why?" 

"It is one of 'is windows into our world."

"The Phantom," I clarified.  
"Got it. But I suppose I don't have much to worry about. As long as I don't have to sing---"

From out of nowhere, a scream rang throughout the opera house and another ballerina ran into the dressing room.

"Horreur! Horreur! Tragédie vient de frapper l'opéra!" shrieked a girl of about fourteen, her face pale as snow.

"Jacqueline!" Adeline exclaimed.  
"Qu'est-ce que c'est?"

"C'est le fantôme de l'opéra. Il a blessé Manon! Venir vite!"

The girl, who I assumed was named Jacqueline, ran off with Adeline in toe. Shrugging, I followed suit.

* * *

Reaching the main stage, a calamity had ensued. The ballerinas, singers, conductor, directors, everyone was in a frenzy. And I understood almost none of it.

"Bon sang tout ça!" a woman on the ground snapped snootily, a painted muslin drop, base weight and all over the lower have of her body, as a doctor examined her.  
"Je vais détruire la personne responsable de cette atrocité! Ma robe est en ruine!"

A man who looked to be roughly her age rushed to her side to console her.

"Manon, ma chérie, ne t'inquiète pas, nous pouvons réparer la robe en un rien de temps!" he assured her gently before turning to bark furiously at the others.  
"Qui était responsable de la chute de la mousseline?"  
  
"Je pense que c'était la main de scène!" another ballerina exclaimed.  
  
"Non, il n'était pas là! En fait, il a disparu la nuit dernière," someone else contradicted. 

The woman called Manon was in dramatics over the whole thing, but I guess I couldn't blame her too much. Even if I had trouble understanding them, I could at least tell that there was a sabotage of some kind, and sabotage was a bitch in its own right.  
  
"Oh, Jean-Claude," she sighed lovingly before turning back to her bitchy and entitled personality.  
"Je jouerai dans la série comme d'habitude ce soir, non?"

Jean-Claude turned to the doctor examining her.  
  
"Docteur? Est-ce qu'elle jouera ce soir?"

The doctor was trembling, clearly not wanting to give out the bad news, but---

"Je crains que notre locataire ait une requête contradictoire," a woman with a motherly and mature voice spoke up.

We all turned to see a woman with ebony skin in a black dress stride towards us. Whispers rippled throughout. 

"C'est Madame Montclaude!" they all whispered shocked.

"Que voulez-vous dire?" Jean-Claude demanded angrily.

"Maman!" Adeline gasped fearfully.  
"Nous a-t-il écrit encore une fois?"

Nodding ruefully, Madame Montclaude pulled out an envelope with an opened wax seal and pulled out a letter.

"'E 'as written to us in English zis time," she noted as she unfolded the paper and read aloud.  
"Zere is clearly someone who is lacking in ze French language."

_"Fondest Greetings to You All,  
"I have noticed your opening of your production of 'Le mystère d'Edwin Drood' is scheduled for tonight. Yet, against my prior instructions, you have casted that arrogant toad, Manon Charbonneau, as the lovely ingenue Rosa Bud. I have told you time and time again not to cast her. Neither her voice, her face, nor her personality fit her, she is no ingenue nor can she imitate one. To follow, not only has she overstayed her welcome, but the divas must not flourish in the theatre, especially not my theatre. My instructions remain, even if you have to redo the show in English. Mystic must be the one to play Rosa, no exceptions. Should you dare to deny my demands, your theatre shall be meeting its swift and untimely demise._

_"Most Sincerest Warnings,_

_Your Friendly Neighborhood Opera Ghost."_

Now I understood this perfectly (well, no shit, it was in English) and a chill ran through my spine. I began to debate yeeting myself out of the opera house when Madame BitchyFace spoke up again. 

"Zis is an outrage!" she shrieked.  
"I, not an ingenue? I am ze only one fit to play ze ingenue! Right, Jean-Claude?"

"Of course, ma cherie," he consoled.  
"You shall be on tonight."

Some other stage hands had removed the drop by this time only to reveal that both of Manon's ankles were red and swelling. She tried to stand, only to squeak in pain. 

"My legs!"

"I'm afraid she cannot perform in 'er condition," the doctor sighed.  
"Ze base weight 'as shattered both of 'er ankles."

"I'll perform in a wheelchair!" she insisted.

"Ze stage is not made to 'ave wheelchairs on it, I'm afraid," Adeline informed her. 

"Everyone!" Jacqueline interrupted.  
"We 'ave a bigger problem zen zat! We do not know a Mystique!"

"Zis opera ghost is delusional," another ballerina sniffed.  
"'Ow can we fill a role wis someone we do not even know?"

"Well, we 'ave to fill ze position some'ow," Madame Montclaude sighed.  
"We 'ave important people attending zis performance. Wealsy patrons, dukes, duchesses, even ze King of France 'imself! If we cancel opening, we shall become bankrupt and 'ave to disband entirely!"

This made my eye go wide. So this whole opening night could determine the future of this company? That did change my perspective a bit. But still, danger.

"Maman, no! If we put 'er in ze role, it may put 'er in danger!" Adeline gasped.  
"She is too sweet to become 'is obsession!"

Everyone immediately went silent and turned to Adeline, who realized her mistake. 

_Fuck,_ I thought.

"If.....of course.....we find 'er," she added sheepishly, hoping no one would notice.

"'Ow do you know what she is like?" Jacqueline interrogated.

Adeline looked like she was going to be sick, and I was still weighing my options. On one hand, I certainly didn't want to put myself in any danger, at least not anymore than I absolutely HAD to, but if I was hearing correctly, then this production could determine whether or not the theatre company would still be standing. I couldn't let that happen. 

_Well, fuck. I gotta do this._

"Because she met me," I confessed reluctantly as I stepped forward.  
"I am Mystic."


	56. An Eternal Opera, Part 4: The Opera Ghost's Calling the Shots

At this point, all eyes were on me. With the glares some of them were giving me, I was literally expecting hell to rain down. It took almost all of my consciousness to keep my knees steady, praying that I wasn't going to get my face punched in for all the trouble my name had seemed to cause the company. God, and that silence! It was soul-damning just for its awkwardness alone. I wanted nothing more than to just disintegrate into the air or melt into lava or something! Anything! Hell, even being taken by this Opera Ghost sounded like a much-better alternative to this!

"You......are Mystique?" Jacqueline asked in disbelief.

I pursed my lips, still barely dipping my toe in the waters of this atmosphere, and nodded.

"Yup. I am."

All of a sudden, the ballerinas sorta tiptoed up to me, circling me, scanning me up and down. It felt a bit disturbing, as a chill ran up my spine. 

"Uhhh, can I help you?" I asked awkwardly. 

They didn't answer me, just continued to circle and inspect. This went on for what I assume was about two or three minutes until they backed away. 

"You're a bit different zan I pictured you," one of them remarked, rubbing her chin.

"How did you picture me?" I asked.

"I sought zat you would be........a little bit sinner?"

I blushed at this, feeling a bit ashamed, but if it'd been just me and her, I'd have a mind to tell her off.

"I didn't sink you would 'ave glasses," another replied. 

Well, I guess that's fair. 

"I sought your 'air would be lighter," another added.

"I sought you would be taller," informed another. 

"I sought you'd look older, more mature," another told me.  
"I figured 'e was exaggerating 'ow cute and innocent you looked, mais non. 'E was right."

I huffed at this. I was getting really fucking tired of innocent being the main thing people said about me.

All of a sudden, I heard a sigh of relief from Madame BitchyFace.

"Well zen, if you are Mystique, zen what a relief!" she laughed.  
"I was afraid you were going to be prettier, mais non! You are as ugly as a toad."

I mean, if Madame BitchyFace had some redemption to her, it was her honesty. She thinks I'm ugly and isn't afraid to tell me so. I shrugged it off.

"Sure," I answered apathetically.  
"Whatever. But, unlike you, at least I don't have an ugly heart."

This sent more whispers through the ballerinas and Madame BitchyFace began to turn tomato red.

"You 'ave got some nerve to talk back to me," she growled.  
"Do you know 'Oo I am?"

"Not until now, and thank the Lord for that. I would never want to be acquainted with someone who had such a terrible personality."

She tried to stand up, but found herself whimpering in pain. 

"Jean-Claude!" she squawked.  
"Put zis toad in 'er place!"

He nodded and strode up to me, getting right in my face. I could feel his breath on my nose.

"Listen 'ere, you idiotic girl--!" he began.

"Um, you know," I interrupted calmly yet smugly as I used a finger to push his face away.   
"I WAS considering agreeing to take Manon's place as this tenant suggested. I mean, if it really determines whether or not this company is going to stay alive or not, then I am more than happy to help. But it seems that I'm not wanted here. After all, what Manon wants Manon gets, right? She IS the prima donna, right?"

I mean, okay, I did feel a little bad for using a guilt trip on them, but if it was gonna get Madame and Monsieur BitchyFace to shut up and show some respect, then why not?

"Oui!" she giggled eagerly, clapping like a small, excited, demonic, entitled child  
"Release ze toad into ze swamp."

"Indeed," I replied.  
"Release me into the swamp. I'm sure I'll be nice and safe there with all of my sweet and lovely toady brethren when this theatre meets its end, just as this tenant threatened. And what a shame that would be. Because the rest of you are all perfectly lovely and beautiful people, so to have two people who demonstrate such disrespect drag you down would be such a tragedy, I dare say.  
"And even if you were to hold me captive and force me to go on-stage, yet still allow those two to be absolutely disrespectful to me, then suppose I don't perform well? Suppose I meow during the quiet moments? Suppose I squawk the lyrics in _Moonfall_ instead of singing them? Or perhaps I say the name of the Scottish play aloud on stage? It would make you look terrible and I'm sure you don't want that, especially when....didn't you say that the King of France himself was going to be coming to Opening Night? I'm sure he would be absolutely infuriated that you would even CONSIDER putting an actress who demonstrated absolutely no discipline in such a prominent role. But perhaps if Manon and Jean-Claude were to, oh I don't know, show me even just the bare minimum amount of respect for a human being, then I just might be persuaded to take on the role."

By this time Madame and Monsieur BitchyFace were fuming tomato-red and, quite literally, quaking.

"Why you........you...," Manon stammered.

"As much as you don't want to admit it," I told her matter-of-factly.  
"If you want to keep being the star here, you NEED me right now. And besides, even if you insist so heavily that you take on the role, you heard what the doctor said. Your ankles are completely shattered. How on earth are you going to perform?"

All of a sudden, they heard creaking coming from ceiling. Looking up and squinting my eyes, I saw a door open in the dome-esque ceiling. A figure dressed in black with a cape (of course) stood on a small balcony high up by the chandelier. Everyone else began to scream, but I was more curious than afraid. I could feel someone trying to pull me back, but I stood where I was. Then the figure leaped through the door, leaving almost as fast as he had come. 

"Leave her alone!" a familiar voice exclaimed.

_Candy Pop, are you fucking serious?_

I knew he was trying to find a way in.

"We 'ave no ozer choice," Madame Montclaude sighed.  
"It 'as been decided. Mystique shall be playing Rosa Bud. Someone give 'er ze script and re'earse ze music wis 'er."

A mixture of excitement and dread filled me as I was taken to the music room. One, I'd be playing a lead, but two, I knew nothing about what this guy was like. Another possibility hit me as well; I could potentially fall in love with him.

And that was what terrified me the most. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, by the way, you're probably gonna think I'm crazy, but I'm strongly considering turning this into an audio drama.
> 
> As in "Our Eternity Together."


	57. An Eternal Opera, Part 5: Sneaking in

Hours later a line began to form in front of the Palais Garnier. News of Manon's misfortune and a newcomer's debut had attracted more than the company had anticipated. Part of that company included a small portion of the writers, guests, and agents, who had snatched up tickets from a small group of a baker's dozen in order to get inside the theatre while the other group were going to attempt to sneak in to not only retrieve Candy Pop, but Mystic if possible.

"This feels wrong," Ro lamented as they waited in line in their disguises.

"But it's for a good cause," Penelope assured her.  
"After tonight, we'll have Mystic back."

"We'll be able to keep a closer eye on her," Safiya added.

"You know, have you all considered that maybe Mystic doesn't WANT us stalking her like this?" Dooper asked, genuinely curious.

"Yes, indeed," Penelope sighed.  
"But right now, she's in too much danger. Alright, does everyone have their tickets?"

The other twelve, Dooper, Safiya, Rosanna, Matt, Liza, Sierra, Tyler, Tristen, Manny, Nikita, Alison, and Gabbie, nodded.

"Are you sure we're going to be able to do this?" Gabbie worried.  
"If our accent isn't good enough, we're going to be kicked out."

"Relax," Penelope assured her.  
"If you just remember the nouvellieur Rs, long Es for short Is, no Hs, usually nasal-esque, and the alternate stresses, you'll be fine."

"So then we're screwed," Sierra groaned.

"We're next," Liza whispered.

"Everyone, remember your name," Penelope reminded them as they approached the ticket booth before turning to the ticket taker.

"'Allo. Group of a baker's dozen."

"Names?" the ticket man asked.

"I am Madame Ambre Guillory," Penelope replied without skipping a beat.

Liza was next in line.

"Uh, I am Clémence Bonheur," she replied in a low voice before giggling under her breath.  
"Bonheur."

"Mademoiselle Marie Roux," Sierra introduced calmly and flawlessly.

"'Umbert Sauvageot," Dooper attempted, ending with a "hon hon hon baguette croissant."

"Mademoiselle Florette Villeneuve," Gabbie huffed, 110% with Dooper at this point.

"Monsieur 'Ercule Poirot," Matt greeted warmly.

"Guillaume D'aramitz," Tyler struggled.

"Manuel Langlais," Manny replied.

"Mademoiselle Caroline Rousseau," Safiya informed.

"Émilienne Fortier," Tristen announced.

"Christine Rose," Ro replied shyly.

"Juliette St Martin," Alison asserted.

"And I," Nikita declared.  
"Am Mademoiselle Philomène Ulysse Sylvaine Sévérine Yverneau."

The ticket taker looked over the bunch and nodded. 

"Enjoy ze show," he replied boredly.

They snuck on past and inside.

"This is quite a musical," Matt needed out.  
"The true ending was never written, meaning that the audience gets to decide who the killer is!"

Meanwhile two comrades were having a different sort of conversation.

"Bitch, you picked the longest and most extra name in the world," Manny whispered.  
"This is strange, even for you. Why the hell did you have 3 middle names?"

Nikita smiled and winked at him.

"Innuendos in the name, honey."

As they headed to their reserved box, Manny was confused. 

"Philomène Ulysse Sylvaine Sévérine Yverneau," He repeated as he sat next to her.  
"I don't see how that has any---"

Just as the lights began to dim, it clicked.

"Oh, you clever bitch!" he cackled quietly. 

* * *

I sat in the dressing room, exhausted after going through all of the blocking, singing, lines. I felt like I'd just pulled an all-nighter for an exam. Luckily, I was allowed to look over the script in between scenes. 

The ballerinas fawned over me, complimenting me, as they prepared me in makeup, hair, and even the costumer was sweet and was altering the costume to fit me. Needless to say, I was blushing constantly.

"'Just look at ow adorable she is!" one of the ballerinas gushed.  
"Look at zat little button nose."

"Oh, and zose cute little cheeks," another cooed.

"What about 'er doe-like eyes?" another squealed.

"Non, it's ze way she gets so embarrassed at our compliments," a fourth argued as she curled my hair.  
"'Er cheeks are glowing red."

I know I said I was tired of those kind of compliments, but hey. I'm not gonna say no if they're in good taste.

"Why do you avoid ze mirror, ma cherie?" Jacqueline wondered.

I shrugged.

"I just don't find myself pretty at all."

Immediately they gasped as if a kitten had been murdered.

"Non! Non, non, non!" one refused.  
"Zat is wrong. Do not listen to Manon. She is ze toad, not you!"

"You are an angel," the second told me.

"Your cheeks are ze cheeks of God's cherubs," agreed a third.

All of a sudden, a stage manager and the costumer opened the dressing room door.

"Twenty to places," the stage manager announced.

"Merci vingt," I replied. 

A few moments later, the ballerinas stepped back.

"What do you sink?" 

I took a good look and blushed. I actually felt beautiful and I looked it.

"Thank you," I gasped.  
"I look absolutely gorgeous. You're all so talented."

I went to each ballerina and enveloped them in a hug, I could hear a chorus of "aww" each time.

"So adorable!"

"So precious!"

"Alright, alright," Jacqueline laughed.  
"I sink zat is quite enough. Let's let our star relax."

They left me to contemplate my life choices. I kept looking around the dressing room, when a strange voice caught my attention.

_Mystic......._

I whirled around, frightened.

"H-hello?" I asked thinly.

_Mystic.......look into the mirror._

Shrugging I turned towards the vanity mirror I'd been facing for about half an hour.

_No.....look to your right...._

Cautiously, I did and I saw a white wispy spiral, covering my reflection of me in a white gown.

_Nervous, my dear?_

The voice was suddenly calming to me now, I began to let my guard down, nodding.

_You have no need to be. Your voice is a gift from the Angels of God._

Blushing I turned away.

_Come now.....you and I both know it's true._

"But my friend......."

_She too was gifted a voice from the Angels of God. But you are not her. And she is not you. You both are angelic singers, but tonight YOU are the star._

I nodded, entranced by the spiral.

_And after this, we shall finally meet._

All of a sudden, there was a knock on the door and I snapped out of trance. 

"Mystique?" Adeline's voice echoed through the door. 

Rushing over I opened it.

"Fifteen to places."

I nodded before shutting the door. Just then I heard another knock coming from the privacy curtain. Startled I cried out before a figure peeked out, smirking. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who caught Nikita's little trick?


	58. An Eternal Opera, Part 6: Curtain Call Catastrophe.

"YOU!!??" I exclaimed as Candy Pop emerged from behind the privacy curtain.  
  
His expression turned to fear as I turned to call out for Adeline.

“Wait-!!” he stammered.

“ADELI-!!”

Before I knew it the jerkass had his fingers over my mouth. I tried to bite them, but he had placed them perfectly so that I couldn't bite them or call out.

_Rude!_

“ **Wait.** Just hear me out, okay?"

_Do I have a choice right now?_

"I’m not planning on sticking around where I know I’m not wanted, but I couldn’t find any of those handy Wish stones of yours anywhere on the Path to Paris, which means that either you’ve got ‘em all, or they’re a lot more scarce than I was led to believe-“

_Oh my God. THIS again?_

Turning around, I rammed my hand straight into his chest, sending him flying backwards. First the asshole tried to break and enter into my treehouse, then he tried to break and enter into a house I was staying in, and now he tried TWICE to break and enter into the Ladies' Dressing Room. All for what? The teastones that I specifically wished to only be useable by me?

“I told you to leave me alone!!”

I was full to the brim with venom for this douchebag. 

“I know-“

“THEN WHY ARE YOU HERE!!??”

_I don't want any bullshit in your answer either._

“BECAUSE I’M DESPERATE!!”

I was shocked. He did sound pretty desperate, or was that just his yelling? Probably the latter.

"And why should I care…?” I huffed.

“…Do you think I’m the traitor?” he blurted out.

_At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if you were._

“Hm. I don’t know!" I answered sarcastically.  
"Do you think the fact that you’re a fucking Demon is proof enough!?”

He got up and rubbed his head.

“You all just accept that without question," he panted.  
"But I’m telling you it’s not me!”

“Yeah, I highly doubt that," I huffed as I folded my arms. 

He seemed to accept defeat because he got up and sighed, but I had to be prepared.

“You want me gone then, right?” he sighed.

_NOW you understand!?_

“That would be stating the obvious, yeah…” I replied bitterly.

Suddenly he held out his hand to me. What the hell's that supposed to be? Some kind of Demon Peace Offering?

“If you just let me have one wish, I’ll leave this place entirely, and you will never, ever have to deal with me ever again! Ever."

I was incredibly skeptical by this deal. See, the reason I'd kept him in there was because we needed help. But now.....

“Really?" I asked incredulously.

“Yes, really," he promised with desperation in his eyes,

“-And why can’t you find somebody else to help you again?”

I could tell I'd pushed him to his limits. Again.

“I just said-!!”

All of a sudden, the door opened.

“Mystique?” Adeline called out gently. 

I breathed a sigh of relief as she stepped inside of the dressing room only for her gentleness to turn to fear and anger.

“What is all of zis!? And who are you!?” she demanded, pointing to Candy Pop

"Well?" I sniffed at Candy Pop.  
"Are you going to tell her?"

I could tell that he was shocked beyond speech. His mouth tried to form words, but it didn't work.

"No? Then I suppose I shall."

I turned back to Adeline.

"She was a friend of mine, but she doesn't seem to understand the meaning of 'personal space.' But we had a little chat, **and she was** **just about to leave.** "

I glared at him with those last words with my teeth clenched shut. Adeline took a closer look and gasped angrily.

"I recognize you! You were ze pervert trying to look at ze changing lady earlier today!"

I saw a look on his face, one of frustration, as if to say "come on. we both fucking know who that lady was!"

"That wasn't what I was---"

"Don't try to weasel your way out of zis! Get out of ze opera 'ouse, or I'll 'ave to force you out!"

She grabbed ahold of him by the back, carrying him out.

"This isn't over, Mystic!" he yelled as he struggled against her.   
"I WILL get what I came for."

 _That'll_ _be the day,_ I thought as I rolled my eyes.

* * *

The show went on pretty much without a hitch. I got a lot of applause for _Moonfall_ and I felt kinda confident about it. They'd switched to English, but projected French subs. All the while, I kept the bag of teastones tucked under my dress. Then curtain call. 

Each one of us stepped forward for our bow. When it was my turn, the audience roared and applauded. But then I heard from the boxes.

"Yas Mystic! Work it, queen!"

_Nikita!_

How'd they sneak in? I thought that Adeline had kicked them out! Couldn't they understand that I wanted to be independent for a change? Like, what the actual fuck? I tried to hide my anger as the actor playing Jasper took his bow. Once we were all done, the curtain was supposed to go down, but from out of nowhere, the theatre turned pitch black.

Panic ran rampant through everyone. Screams from every corner. But then a familiar voice spoke up.

"Ladies and gentlemen, and all the rest!"

Everyone fell silent. 

_What the hell? I recognize that voice!_

"There's been a slight change in plans. For you see, we have another mystery at our disposal. And once the lights are back on, it shall be your job to solve it and uncover who I am."

Whispers of panic and confusion, but even some of excitement, thinking it was part of the program. As the voice kept talking, I noticed that it was getting closer to me, so I tried to stumble around in order to get away.

"But beware, the Coven has arrived. And they are well-disguised. Who knows who is a member of the Coven of Everlock? It could be your brother, your sister, your friends, anyone. Bonus points to anyone who is killed by the High Priestess!"

I heard a psychotic cackle.

"However one of you will not be partaking in the search. For you see, I've been waiting for the moment we finally met. And now the time has come!"

All of a sudden, I felt an arm wrap around me from behind; immediately I scream and struggle.

"Let go of me, you jerkass! I'm warning you. I took 2 years of karate, and I'll shove my foot up your ass so hard, you'll be fucking a Mary Jane for weeks until you shit it out!"

I felt another hand pet my hair.

"Do you have a death wish, buddy? If you don't, then get your fucking hands off of me!"

I smelled something sweet; Chloroform. Because what else would he use?

"Everyone! This isn't part of the show. My name is Mystic and I'm being kidn----!"

I was cut short by a rag to my face. I struggled, kicked, elbowed, anything, but I was becoming drowsier and blacking out. 

And then, silence.


	59. An Eternal Opera, Part 7: Komaeda?

Matt and the others heard her screaming before she fell silent. They tried not to imagine the worst, but they couldn't help otherwise. Just before the lights back on, they heard the voice again.

"I also suggest being careful in regards to who you trust; those in the Coven can transform into anyone. But there is a prize for those who solve it; a treasure. If you do not solve the crime before sunrise, you'll all be trapped here forever and the treasure shall be mine for all eternity. Good luck."

Panic re-ensued, but now in light. The first thing the group noticed was the absence of a writer/actress from the stage.

"Mystic!" they exclaimed frightfully.

The thirteen of them ran out into the hallway to find Alice, along with the rest of the writers, agents, and guests, being carried inside by giant goons in masks. Once they flung them down on the floor, they went over and padlocked the doors. The group also heard a click from the outside as patrons began to run amok in a panic, slamming themselves against the locked doors and goons.

"This isn't good!" Sierra squealed.  
"What now?"

"We need to find Mystic," Penelope exclaimed.

"She's just gonna hiss at us again," Alice grumbled.  
"The girl's got the stubbornness and will of a tiger."

"Not this time. The second I see her, I'm going to hypnotize her into coming back with us."

"It's not going to work."

"You clearly underestimate my skill."

"People, please," Ines huffed.  
"We only have until sunrise to find this 'treasure.'"

"Why are you set on finding the treasure, dumbass? We need to find Mystic!"

She folded her arms.

"Mystic IS the treasure, dumbass!"

* * *

As my consciousness arose from a slumber, I felt the heat of a warm fire and blankets. On top of it all, I felt a hand gently stroke my head.

Wait a second.

I shot up and, regretfully, I turned to the left to see a man with silver, wayward hair, a white mask covering half of his face, but through it, I saw familiar grey eyes.

_No, it can't be. Is it?_

"Hello, dear," he purred, his voice gentler, but in a creepy and seductive way.

I nearly shrieked. 

"What the hell are you doing? I thought you died through that murder-suicide spiel!"

"Ah," he chuckled.  
"That was merely one version of me."

"So you're Nagito Komaeda, the Phantom?"

"No," he chuckled again.  
"Not Nagito, not any longer. I have to blend into the Parisian lifestyle. I am now Gautier Descôteaux, and you are Nadine, my treasure, soon to be Nadine Rose Descôteaux."

Once again, confusion struck me.

"I'm sorry. What?"

"Didn't Adeline mention me? The tenant?"

"YOU'RE the tenant? YOU'RE what's been terrifying the opera house?"

"Terrifying," he chuckled.  
"You make it sound so......menacing. I prefer the term 'keeping watch over.'"

While he was speaking, I tried to get out of the bed, but found myself tied down. He chuckled again.

"You're so adorable, Nadine."

"My name is Mystic!" 

"You can't leave here. Even if you could, it'd be in your best interest to not want to."

"And why is that?"

"Because, as I said, the Coven is here, and they're looking for you."

He approached me again and began petting me like a kitten. I shivered in disgust and fright.

"Think about it, ma cherie. Is it really such a terrible thing? I give you protection from them and in return, you become my bride."

"And if I don't want to?" 

"You have no choice. Either you become their vessel or my bride. And I would really prefer that you avoid the former."

I mean, I did as well, but marry this dude in exchange?

"My friends will find me, and when they do---"

He chuckled as he got up walking over to a large mass covered by a sheet, which I somehow only just noticed.

"This is far below the opera house, my dear Nadine. They have no chance of finding you, and even if they do, I'm prepared. For if I can't have you---"

He pulled off the sheet and my jaw nearly dropped. Under that sheet were barrels of gunpowder, sticks of dynamite, and explosives by the truckload.

"Then no one can."


	60. An Eternal Opera, Part 8: A Second Plus Traitor?

Immediately after hearing that, Penelope ran off, the others following behind her, until they ran into Adeline who was rushing off towards the dressing rooms.

"Adeline!" Penelope cried.  
"We need your help."

"Why should I 'elp you?" she sniffed.

"Because Mystic's been taken, duh!" Candy Pop exclaimed. 

"Um, should we REALLY be trusting her?" Gabbie quivered.  
"You guys heard what that crazy dude said about the Coven, right?"

They all looked at each other fearfully.

"It's our best bet right now," sighed Sierra.

"Listen," Penelope explained.  
"I know you don't like us---"

"Zat is an understatement," she replied coldly.

"But I know you like Mystic and want her to be safe. Right now, she's not safe."

"Do you sink I don't know zat?" she snapped back.  
"I was on my way to rescue 'er myself."

"You? Going up against that crazy bastard by yourself?" Nikita scoffed.  
"Honey, be realistic."

"It's better if we come with you," Safiya told her.

All of a sudden, they heard a loud boom as the doors flung off their hinges, hitting several patrons in the heads. In walked a tall, dark, and handsome man along with a few clowns and other goons.

"Where is she?" he growled.

"'Ooh is zat?" Adeline gulped, her eyes growing in fear.

"The Cursed God, dumbass!" Ines huffed.  
"Do you really not know who he is?"

"I do, but I 'ad never seen 'im in person."

"I mean, that's fair," Stella resigned.  
"I'd probably have done the same thing."

"So where do we go to find her before either the Cursed God or the Coven do?" Montana asked her.

She took some time to think about this, all the while Candy Pop was getting impatient.

"I mean," Taylor interjected.  
"Do we really have to go save her? Can't she save herself?"

"Not in this scenario," Tana argued.  
"This is some dangerous shit."

"But what if he starts following us?" she retorted.

"Maybe we could split up and, like, hope he doesn't pick the---" Eva suggested.

"I mean, that could work," Timothy overlapped.

"Yeah, I think we should split up," Joey agreed.

"Oh my God," Sierra squealed fearfully.  
"Splitting up is never a good idea, okay?"

"I'm in the same boat as she is," Tristen exclaimed.  
"Splitting up can only lead to death."

"How much time do we have?" Lele asked.

"Until the sun comes up," Andrea Brooks replied.

"I mean, it doesn't really matter if we split up or not," Tyler piped up.  
"If one of the tokens is here, which it likely is, someone's gonna die regardless."

"Yeah, but shouldn't we at least try to minimize the amount of casualties?" Matthew Haag asked.

"Okay, maybe we could send one group to find the token," Lauren suggested.  
"And the other goes to find Mystic, so we're getting both tasks out of the way."

"But then what if someone in the group dies?" Alex argued.  
"How's the other group gonna know?'

"Guys, we don't have time to argue!" Gabbie exclaimed.  
"Let's just stick together and find Mystic. Then we'll deal with the tokens. Where the hell is she?"

"Ze dressing room," sighed Adeline.  
"I did not want to do zis, but we 'ave to go srough ze mirror to get to 'er."

* * *

They barged into the dressing room before slamming and barricading the door shut. 

"Is everyone inside?" Mortimer asked.

"Yeah, I think so," JC answered.

"Wait, guys," Taylor gasped.  
"Remember what that dude said earlier about the Coven?"

"You mean, the thing I brought up like five fucking minutes ago?" Gabbie scoffed.

Taylor nodded.

"What if.......what if one of us is a Coven member in disguise?"


	61. An Eternal Opera, Part 9: Which Mass?

Silence fell on the room as the group looked around, unsure of how to respond. But thankfully Stella broke the silence.

"One of us? A coven member?" she laughed nervously.  
"You're joking, right?"

Taylor shook her head.

"It may not even be just one of us," she trembled.  
"There could be multiple people."

"Then let's just kill them," Timothy exclaimed. 

"But how do we know who IS in disguise, if that's the case?" Colleen questioned. 

"I think they'd probably be acting Very Fucking Differently than how they usually act," Taylor theorized.

The group slowly turned to Candy Pop.

"Oh sure," he groaned sarcastically.  
"Go for the black sheep of the group. That...that's real fucking nice of you!"

"But Alice was acting strangely BEFORE this happened," Nora defended.  
"If she'd been taken over by a coven member, then wouldn't she be acting even stranger?"

"That's a good point," Stella agreed. 

"Fine," Taylor sighed, reluctantly conceding.  
"She may not be a coven member in disguise, but she could still be the traitor sent by the Cursed God. So then who among us is in disguise?"

"Okay, I don't know about the rest of you," Teala exclaimed.  
"But I just want to find Mystic and get the hell out of here."

"But then we'll need to find the token as well," Shane reminded her.

"Screw the token. I just want my friends safe."

"Mystic's not gonna BE safe if we don't find the token, though," Roi pointed out. 

"But she's not gonna be safe if she's with some crazy dude either," she argued.

"Guys?" JC's voice called out surprisingly echoey.

Everyone turned to find that he had stepped through the mirror.

"What the hell are you doing?" Justine exclaimed shocked.

"That French lady said we had to go through the mirror to find Mystic," he shrugged.  
"So let's just go."

* * *

Meanwhile, I was still tied down to the bed as Nagito--oh, I'm sorry; Gautier--was going through various wedding gowns.

"Now, I didn't really like the style of the dress when I saw it," he told me as he went through the, probably, thirty-seventh dress.  
"But it came with this rose crown that I thought you would like, so it was a good pick."

He took out a crown of white roses (of course it's white) and placed it on my head. Fun fact about me? For the most part, I hate trying on new clothes, and being with this creepy dude wasn't making it any more enjoyable. I shook the crown off of my head. 

"Could you at least PRETEND to enjoy this?" he sighed.  
"I stole all of these lovely dresses just for you, Nadine."

"Don't call me that," I snapped.

"Why not? That's going to be your name from now on."

"I don't want to be Nadine. I want to be untied."

"If I untie you, then you'll try to escape, and if you try to escape...."

He gestured towards the pile of explosives. Feeling defeated I sighed.

"Now THIS dress," he continued as he shuffled through the pile.  
"Is one that, believe it or not, I didn't steal, but I DID copy the design of it. It's from Novoselic. If my friend Sonia were here, she would've been ecstatic to hear that you chose to wear a dress from her country, especially on a day so special as our wedding will be."

I tried to tune him out, as my head was starting to throb from all of this wedding talk. Why were so many people trying to tie me down? Why couldn't I just simply be set free? Tears started to form in my eyes. I laid back down and covered myself with the blankets.

"Oh, my sweet Nadine, please don't be like that," he replied softly as I heard him approach me.  
"I promise that I'll never hurt you, and you'll live a very happy life should you choose to live with me."

"And yet you're gonna bomb the fuck out of this place if I don't?" I cried muffled through the sheets.

"It's for the greater good," he sighed.  
"So, my dear, you must choose; the wedding mass or the requiem mass?"

"I'm afraid that she won't be making either choice," a voice purred. 

Perking up and peeking over the sheets, I nearly fainted when I saw a group of about a dozen women dressed in black gowns and one woman wearing a fancy headdress.

"The coven," I gasped.


	62. An Eternal Opera, Part 10: The One Where I'm So Done With My Own Shit

"Well," the woman in the headdress declared in a Southern dialect.  
"You're just as idiotic as ever. Why you kept her down here nice and imprisoned for us."

"Stay back, Evanora," Gautier growled.  
"I won't let you have my bride."

"And we won't let you have our vessel," Evanora replied.

"Oh my God!" I exclaimed frustrated.  
"Just give me the fucking match already."

The two sides stopped arguing and stared at me.

"What?" both Gautier and Evanora puzzled.

"It's the same damn thing," I huffed.  
"I go somewhere new and a new fucking person or group wants me for something. I get away, but this time to get a token someone's gonna have to die, and then that has to happen five more damn times! I'm becoming a Mary Sue. This world is shaping itself around me and I'm fucking sick of it. I swear to God, if someone was writing this as a stupid, super-drawn-out story to live through me, I would fucking deck them in their face the second I laid eyes on them! So if you don't mind, unless you have the next fucking token of Everlock, give me the match for the dynamite, Komaeda! I'm gonna fucking end this bullshit!"

"I....do have the token," he replied as he put his hand in his pocket before pulling it out. It had a Phantom mask engraved in it.

"Great, now fucking give it to me."

"Why should he?" Evanora scoffed.  
"Someone has to die for you to earn it. And by becoming the vessel, you'll do just that."

"Oh no you don't!" a new voice emerged.

I wished that I had something hard to hit my head against as the guests, writers, and agents came rushing inside. 

"Mystic! You're safe!" Nora and the others exclaimed as they rushed over to the bed.

"Oh, for fuck's sake!" I nearly screamed, especially when I saw Candy Pop.  
"I told you all to leave me the fuck alone!"

I held out my hand to Komaeda.

"Give me the token, then give me the match."

"What the hell is Nagito doing here?" Nora sputtered.  
"He's supposed to be dead."

"Yes," Not-Alice scoffed.  
"Because **THAT** 's the reason it shouldn't be possible for him to be here."

"Give me the fucking token and then the match."

"What do you need a match for?" Andrea R asked.

I gestured to the gun powder.

"Listen, once I get this token, Saf's gotta take it and y'all gotta run."

"With you, right?" Lauren trembled.

I shook my head.

"It's the only way to end this cycle of me being a stupid fucking Mary Sue character who everyone wants, but no one tries to kill--!"

"Well, screw you too!" one of the witches in the coven spat.  
"Oh, by the way, whichever one of you Jadis transformed into can come out now."

Transform? There was silence as we waited for someone to betray us. 

"Fine," she sighed.  
"Be that way, Jadis."

She muttered under her breath.

"You stubborn bitch."

"We are NOT leaving without you, Mystic," Joey exclaimed.

"Well, you're gonna have to."

Penelope stepped forward.

"I think I can change that in a snap," she smirked.

That was when I had my FIRST **oh-shit** moment in these catacombs.

"Oh hell no!" I exclaimed.  
"You are NOT hypnotizing me!"

Gautier/Nagito jumped in between us.

"Kirumi?" he asked genuinely surprised.  
"What are you doing here?"

Hearing this, Penelope gasped.

"How dare you compare me to such a lowly and irrelevant maid!"

_I mean, she died trying to protect her country, but go off, I guess._

"I will NOT let you take my precious Nadine away from me!" he snarled.

"Why are you so obsessed with me being named Nadine?" I huffed, close to tearing my hair out.

"Probably because the name is French and it means 'hope,'" Sierra pointed out.

I froze as this ran through me. How had I not realized it sooner? It was like this dude was sexually and romantically attracted to hope.

"Oh, you clever son-of-a-bitch!"

"That's child's play," Nikita scoffed.  
"Wait until you hear what name I used to get inside of this opera house."

"Why use a name when you have magic to get you in?" a voice cackled.

There was my second **oh-shit** moment. In enter the Cursed God with his army. Of course. 

"Took us long enough," the Killer Clown Leader continued as literally every single creature, except for Calvin who was probably making out with Envy, swaggered inside alongside the Cursed God.  
"But we're here to get who we came for."

"Over my dead body!" Nagito growled.

All of a sudden, Ciel ran out of the throng and snatched the token out of Nagito's hand as he was distracted.

"Alright, Ciel!" Dooper exclaimed as he pumped a fist in the air.

"Now no one has to die for that!" Kasey gasped excitedly.

"Oh no," Ciel smirked.  
"Someone still has to die for this."

And there went my third **oh-shit** moment.

All of a sudden, Ciel began to convulse and shake before dropping to the ground. Standing above them was a woman dressed in a black gown, a coven member.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why yes, those comments about me being a Mary Sue and whatnot ARE a jab at myself. 
> 
> Honestly IDK if I AM a Mary Sue in this, it just feels like I am since so many people in this story/AU want me for some reason.


	63. An Eternal Opera, Part 11: The Reveals

"Took you long enough, Jadis!" that one witch huffed.  
"You sure do like to give this coven hell, don't you?"

"I wasn't sure if you meant it or not," she sniffed.

"Liar."

"Okay, why did she just sound EXACTLY like me?" Colleen squeaked.

All of a sudden, one of the other witches gasped.

"You three?" she exclaimed.  
"You're workin' for him?"

As Rosanna came over to the bed to untie me, the three witches stepped forward.

"Duh," they replied in unison.

"Why would we want to be a part of that old-fashion shit show?" Debra rolled her eyes.

"You broke your family's legacy," Evanora announced.

"Screw that stupid legacy," Belle scoffed.  
"We're making our OWN legacy."

"By working for HIM?" Jadis pointed out as Ro undid the final knot.

"It's a better gig than having to do some stupid ritual every full moon."

"And yet your missions rarely succeed," Evanora pointed out before turning on Candy Pop.  
"Oh by the way, how are you enjoying your new body, Candy Pop?"

I saw his face turn paler than pale itself.

"Who?" he squeaked.

"Don't play innocent," she told him.  
"We all know who you are. After all, we were the one who put you there in the first place."

"I knew you were a traitor," Taylor hissed.

"No wait," he exclaimed.  
"It's not what you think!" 

"Save it," Tristen snapped.  
"No one wants to hear it."

"Where's Alice?" Calliope demanded Evanora.

"We took her out of this world for a time," she explained.  
"But now that we've sufficiently kept her blinded from most of the truth, we'd be willing to give her back, in exchange for our vessel."

"Excuse me!" the Cursed God and Nagito snarled.  
"That 'vessel' is my bride."

They then glared at one another.

"I think we should at least give them a fair chance at getting this token," Jadis suggested.  
"It'd only be fair."

Evanora took some time to think about this.

"Very well."

Jadis clapped with delight.

"I've always wanted to host one of these," she squealed before switching to a somber voice.  
"In order to get this token, you must vote two people--"

"Into the challenge," the other writers finished in sync.

Jadis was taken aback briefly.

"Um, yes. And then those two---"

"Must pick a partner to aid them."

"Right. But remember, two will go in, but----

"Only one will survive."

"WILL YOU MORTALS LET ME FINISH?" she screamed.

*insert the vine of the kid saying "Jesus Christ."*

"Anyway, two will go in, but only one will survive. We'll go set up the challenge. You wait here and deliberate."

And away they went, surprisingly taking the monsters and Komaeda with them.


	64. An Eternal Opera, Part 11: Let's be honest. None of us would be prepared if we were in "ETN."

As soon as they left, we all stood around in silence for a few moments.

"Well," Destorm piped up causing me to jump, I didn't even realize he was there.  
"Tell us, writers. Who are we gonna vote in?"

They just stared in scared silence.

"That includes you, Mystic."

All of a sudden, we heard a gasp coming from Ciel. Ro and I rushed over and helped them up.

"Are you okay?" Ro asked.

"Y-yeah," they groaned sleepily.  
"What happened?"

"You were possessed by a member of the Coven," I told them.

They stared at me, confused.

"Coven? What Coven?"

They then looked around and saw Candy Pop.

"Why am I looking at myself?" they shrieked.

I had to do a double take to make sure I was seeing right.

"Alice?" I exclaimed.  
"Is that you?"

"Who else would I be?" she asked trembling.  
"But why am I looking at myself?"

_That means Ciel's spirit's probably wandering now._

"Oh thank God!" Candy Pop sighed in relief.  
"You gotta get me out of your weak little body, kid. I could take down the Cursed God in a second."

Alice just sat up in Ciel's body, confused.

"Are we still in Horace's house? Where is he?"

We all pursed our lips as Penelope gave out a hurt little squeak.

"Should we tell her?" I heard Kasey whisper.

"Um, we got out of there," I explained gently.  
"We're in the catacombs of an opera house right now and we have to vote two of us into a challenge to get the second token of Everlock."

"Oh finally! We're actually getting around to that? About time!"

I helped her up to her feet.

"Yeah, there's only one problem," Nora cautioned.  
"Someone's gotta die for it."

It took her a minute to process this.

"So we are---" Alice began slowly.

"Pretty much," Stella answered.

"Oh," she replied.  
"We're screwed, huh?

"So who do we vote in?" Glozell approached us.

"Why are you asking us?" Kasey exclaimed panicked.

"You write and make edits about this shit all the time," Nikita answered.  
"So you should know about this shit."

"We just fangirl/boy/person over the shit," Hazel cried.  
"We know it theory but not in practice!"

"Why aren't you confronting Joey about this?" Sunny added, pointing to him.  
"It's his show."

"It's not a show if it's real life," he argued.

"But you're still the one who started it."

"If anyone should be guiding us, it's Mystic," he rebuttled, pointing in my direction.  
"She let the Cursed God into the franchise."

"Accidentally!" I corrected him.  
"It was an accident!"

"What about Not Alice?" Taylor suggested.  
"They seem to know more than they're letting on."

"I'm not even part of this fandom," Candy Pop stammered.  
"I just got placed in this body."

"Everyone, quiet please!" Ro exclaimed loudly.  
"This isn't the time or place to argue. Lives are at stake."

More silence. Even I was surprised. I'd never considered her as someone who would take charge, but hey. I've been wrong before.

"She's right," Penelope sighed.  
"I think we should all vote."

That's when I started developing a plan. If I could get myself voted in and choose the person I consider to be the least competent, then I'd be killed and this whole cycle could end!

"Alright," Calliope sighed.  
"How many of us are there?"

She did a headcount. 10 guests from the 1920s, 9 from the Victorian Era, 9 from 1978, Jael, Ryu, Katsumi, herself, Alison, Mortimer, Joey, Candy Pop, Alice/Ciel, Nora, Stella, Taylor, Erica, Tristen, Penelope, Montana, Lisbet, Ines, Briar, Sequoia, Silvia, Dooper, Harlow, Kasey, Sunny, Hazel, Kyrie, Arya, Hyacinthe, Shiloh, Parris, Caelan, Cyrille, Haven, Celeste, and myself.

"Sixty-four," she declared.

A shocked gasp rippled amongst us all.

"So how do we decide?" Shiloh asked.

"I think we just.....do it," Summer gulped.

From out of nowhere, Calliope pulled out sixty-two decks of cards.

"Maybe we should make it sixty-three," Penelope suggested, glaring at me.

"I should have as much of a chance as anyone else," I argued back.

It took what felt like years before I went up, and without hesitation, I handed Calliope the card with my face on it. I sat back down, my heart palpitating wildly. Finally everyone had voted.

"I will now shuffle, and draw two to compete," she announced calmly. 

The majority of us were trembling, but while I was scared, I didn't show it. I'd kinda resigned myself to my fate. Calliope pulled out the first card. 

"Kyrie," she told us.

I looked over. Kyrie was trembling.

"What? Who voted me in?"

Calliope didn't answer, instead drawing the second card. 

"Mystic."

I smiled weakly. All I had to do now was choose someone incompetent. 

"You may pick your partners," she informed us.  
"Kyrie, you're first."

"I'll pick Eva," she blurted out.

I shrugged.

"I'll pick Justine," I announced.

"WHAT? NO! I'm an idiot," Justine blathered.  
"You don't want me!"

Immediately Penelope stood up.

"Justine, I need to see you for a moment."

Justine, shrugging, got up and followed her.

"Wait, we have to---" I exclaimed.

"This will only take a few minutes," Penelope assured me.

I had a really bad feeling about this.

* * *

They returned five minutes later. Justine looked a bit dazed, and I knew what happened.

"You're sadistic," I whispered angrily to Penelope.  
"Kyrie is gonna die because of you."

She didn't answer. Eva and Kyrie stood up and I stood with Justine, praying that she wouldn't fail me, by failing me. 

"So what now?" I asked.

All of a sudden, Jadis reappeared.

"Well, I expected better," she sniffed.  
"But okay."

With a snap of her fingers, we were off.


	65. An Eternal Opera, Part 12: When Death Comes Knocking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Guess what time it is?
> 
> It's MURDER O CLOCK!

Opening my eyes, I found myself in the pale moonlight outside facing towards a waterfall with two rivers rapidly racing towards it. I tried to move, but I felt constricted. Looking down, I saw that I'd been tied tightly to a pole, and below me was a large pile of sticks. Under the pile was a fuse that led over to a box with a hole in the top and a lever next to it.

 _Okay,_ I thought.  
_Guess I'm dying by fire then. Not the worst way to go. Besides I think royal people who broke the law were burnt at the stake._

I looked over to my right and saw Kyrie only about 2 feet away.

"I'm really sorry," I sighed.

She just glared at me and then sighed in response.

"I mean, I guess it had to be someone," she shrugged.  
"But how did I get so unlucky that it was me?"

"Beats me."

"I mean, at least Eva's pretty skilled, so I should have a chance," she smiled.

_Oh, you poor child._

"I voted myself in," I admitted.

"You what?" she nearly shrieked.

I nodded.

"If I die, the Cursed God won't have a reason to go after you all. You'll be able to get the rest of the tokens and defeat him safely."

"And you're sure you know what you're doing?"

I nodded.

"I mean, I'm pretty sure, but on the off-chance that you end up dying, I'm really sorry."

_On the off-chance? You know better than that, dumbass._

She merely shrugged.

"I guess we'll just have to see. I mean, it's anyone's game, right?"

I nodded reluctantly as I watched the waterfall.

* * *

We waited a good fifteen minutes, but all we heard was the water falling. It was falling in such a way that it was almost like it was trying to put us into a trance of our own. 

I felt so guilty about what I knew. Penelope was putting other people's lives at stake just so I wouldn't have to die. I prayed to any deity out there that it wouldn't work, that the trance would fail, that Eva would----

Suddenly someone emerged from the waterfall with a gem in her hand. I thought I saw her pale pink coat, but...

"Mystic, I got it!" Justine exclaimed as she ran against the current.  
"I just need to put the gem in and pull the lever!"

I pursed my lips in regret. If she did that, it'd be all over for Kyrie.

"Justine, don't do it!" I screamed as she ran over to my box quicker than lightning.  
"Get away from there!"

In the back, I could see Eva bursting from the waterfall with a gem, but Justine was so close to mine, in spite of my attempts to deter her. I had to get her up here. 

Focusing on her, I tried to levitate her over, teleport her over, something, ANYTHING! But I hadn't trained enough, and I knew it.

"C'mon, Eva!" Kyrie was yelling tearfully.  
"You can do it! Please. Get me out of here!"

"Damn it, Eva. Get over here!" I cried.  
"Please!"

But it was too late.

Without hesitation, Justine placed the gem in the hole and pulled the lever towards me. We heard a crackling. I looked over to see that Kyrie's fuse had ignited and was moving swiftly towards her pile of sticks below. If Penelope wasn't going to let me die, then I at least needed to save Kyrie.

"Justine, put out the fire!" I screamed.

But she had already stepped out of the river and onto the banks, standing there mindlessly. I turned my attention to Eva who'd stopped at this point.

"Eva, run, damn it!" I yelled.

"I don't want to die!" Kyrie cried out as the fire moved closer. 

She tried to run again. All of a sudden, Justine sprung into action. Like a leopard, she pounced on Eva, fighting against her. I tried to struggle against the bonds.

"What the hell, Justine?" I spat.

All of a sudden, an ear-piercing scream came over me. The flames had gotten to the bottom of Kyrie's feet, burning off her shoes.

"No!" she yelled.  
"I'm not ready to die! I'm not ready!"

Soon enough, the fire sped up, engulfing her legs, her waist, her torso, her chest; her shrieks of agony and fear nearly murdering my ear drums. 

"Stay with me, bud!" I yelled out to her in a fruitless attempt at encouragement.

But once it got to her neck, she let out one final blood-curdling shriek that faded slowly before she was completely engulfed by the flames. I heard a fizzle as she dropped down to the ground, a pile of bloody ashes. 

I was crest-fallen. I didn't even care that my ropes were released as I fell to the grass below me. I felt terrible. Authoress had thought she had even a small chance of survival, but the odds were stacked against her even before we were teleported here.

"Well done," Jadis told me.

I looked up to see her and the High Priestess.

"It seems that you're much better suited alive than as our vessel," the latter told me before holding out her hand.  
"Here's your prize."

She held out the token. I snatched it up angrily.

"Just....just take us back," I ordered numbly.

With a snap of her fingers, Justine, Eva, and I were teleported back.

* * *

We arrived back at the lair and everyone gasped.

"Oh my God," Lele exclaimed. 

"No," Liza cried.

"What happened?" Sierra gasped.

"Where's Kyrie?" Stella panicked.  
"What happened to her?"

I didn't answer. Justine groaned, seemingly dazed.

"What the hell happened?"

I didn't answer again. I had my eyes locked right on Penelope. I marched right up to her, fire in my fists. Without hesitation, I slammed all of my force into my fist and against her face. She stumbled a bit, taking a few minutes to reorient herself.

"What was that for?" she demanded.

"You're a sadistic manipulative bitch! This is your fault!" I screamed as tears came to my eyes, causing everyone else to jump, but I didn't care. I was the angriest I'd ever been.   
"You hypnotized Justine to make sure I'd win, and now because of that, Kyrie is fucking dead!"

She merely shrugged.

"Someone had to die," she sighed.  
"It's not a big deal."

I was so ready to punch her again.

"I saw her burn. I heard her shriek. You didn't," I roared.  
"You think that's not a big fucking deal? You're playing with life and death! I swear to God, I'm gonna murder you!"

I lunged at her throat, but I felt two people hold me back and drag me to the bed. I struggled against them, not caring who they were.

"Okay, I take back what I said about Nikita," Manny remarked.  
"This bitch looks like she's from the motherfucking _Exorcist._ "

"Shut up!" I screamed. 

But eventually my anger turned to tears. I really felt like I was in the right for this. Penelope had cheated and because of that, it cost someone's life. 

"It was supposed to be me," I cried, as Ro and Safiya tried to calm me down.  
"I voted myself in."

Everyone, for some reason, was surprised by this, except for Penelope who shrugged.

"I told Calliope we should've made it sixty-three decks, not sixty-four. But did you get the token?"

Anger seared through me. I stood up and launched the token I still gripped in my hand, hitting Penelope in the cheek.

"Take your stupid fucking token!" I hissed through tears.

"Why did you vote for yourself?" Tana asked.

"I wanted to stop this cycle. If I was dead, the Cursed God wouldn't have any reason to go after you all. So you can thank Penelope for keeping you all in danger."

"I was trying to keep you safe!" Penelope lashed back.

"Not at the risk of someone else's life," I panted, running out of energy.

All of a sudden, I heard a crackle and a thunder bolt. Sitting up, I saw that the Coven had returned.

"What the hell do you want?" I snipped.

Evanora, the High Priestess, turned towards me.

"Well, because you're much more useful alive, you're no longer our vessel, but we still need a vessel."

All of a sudden, the lights shut off and everyone began to scream; Ro and Safiya held on tightly to me.

"What the hell is going on?" Candy Pop exclaimed.

"Where are those bitches?" Nikita growled.

"Who's touching me?" Stella panicked.

"That's my hand, sorry," Ines apologized.

"Does anyone else feel like someone's behind them?" Montana quivered.

"Yeah," Cyrille squeaked.

We all tried to keep quiet from then on, but moments later, we heard....

"Hey! What the hell? Let go of me! Don't fucking touch me!"

Then another ear-piercing scream and a thud to the floor. The lights came back on and we saw the coven smiling.

"It's too bad about those stab marks," Jadis sighed.

"We can always heal her up, but we have what we came for," Evanora shrugged.

As the Coven began to fade away, we all looked around the ground, trying to find whoever we were missing. Stella was the first to break the silence.

"Oh my God," she squeaked.

We all turned to find the corpse fading away, but we could still tell that Cyrille had been the next life taken. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> RIP Kyrie and Cyrille.


	66. An Eternal Opera, Part 13: Peace At Last?

We were just.....numb. Dumbfounded. They just said only one of us was gonna die, right? 

I couldn't feel anger anymore. I couldn't even feel sad. I was.....I was just shocked.

"And now that that's out of the way," a malicious voice purred.

All of a sudden, I felt a hand wrap around my neck and I was dragged against Nagito's chest. He stroked my hair again, using one finger at a time.

"I do hope you'll be a sweet girl to me, as I've heard you are," he whispered in my ear.  
"Because if not, I would have to use........reinforcements; and that is something I certainly don't want to do, especially to such a pretty and innocent face like yours."

His hand migrated to my forehead and a chill ran through me. I began to feel sick.

"Get away from her!" another voice yelled.

We all turned; once again, it was the Cursed God.

"She's my bride."

"Oh really?" Nagito asked sarcastically.  
"I didn't know. But then again, it doesn't seem like she wants to be your bride."

_Nor do I want to be yours, jackass._

"I claimed her long before you were even born!" he growled.  
"Hand her over."

He took 

"No. I don't want to do that. I don't think I'd like to lose my precious Nadine, not now, not ever," he chuckled as he backed up towards the gunpowder before striking a match; I began struggling against him.  
"But you want her all to yourself too, don't you? Well then, if I can't have her, then no one can!"

He threw the match into the gunpowder, tripped into it, and held me tightly.

"What the hell are you doing?" I yelled as I fought against him.

"What does it look like?" he laughed maniacally.  
"Two forbidden lovers, dying in each others arms."

And then, he pulled me in and locked lips with me. I struggled against him, but he was determined to keep me locked on, that is until Sally came over and bashed him over the head. 

"No one taints our cute little flower and gets away with it," she exclaimed as she hugged me tightly. 

I struggled against her, kicking her in the shin, which caused her to let go. I ran over to Ro and Safiya.

"Let's go!" I screamed.

Everyone began to run as the guests formed a circle around me, trying to keep me from being taken. I heard a few screams and cries of "Let me go!" but I had to keep moving. Those explosives would go off at any second.

Once we made it up to the main floor, we found the rest of the ballerinas, and Manon who was in a wheelchair (how they got it I have no clue)

"Vite! Vite!" Adeline ordered them.

We all ran outside, far from the opera house and we heard a massive explosion. The opera house burst into flames.

"Alright, who's not dead? Sound off," Jesse ordered.

All 28 of the guests were safe. Joey was safe. So were Mortimer, Alison, and Calliope. Jael and Ryu had made it out okay. So had Katsumi, Nora, Stella, Dooper, Tristen, Celeste, Penelope, Erica, Candy Pop, Alice/Ciel, Taylor, Kasey, Sunny, Montana, Lisbet, Hazel, Ines, Sequoia, Harlow, Caelan, Shiloh, Arya, Hyacinthe, Briar, Parris, Sparkle, Silvia.....

Had luck shifted in our favor? Even if it was just once?

"They almost snapped my neck," Briar shivered.

"Who did?" Arya trembled.

"I couldn't see who it was."

"I didn't sign up for this shit!" Caelan whimpered frightened.  
"I just wanted to write stories and whatnot, not actually be a part of this killing game!"

"Okay," Parris announced.  
"I get that we're all REALLY shaken up about this, but right now the best thing we can do is move forward. And yet, before we do that, I think we deserve to relax a bit, if we can. I say we do a bit of sight-seeing and letting things just cool down for a bit before trying to find the next token."

"Relax? How are we supposed to do that?" Hyacinthe huffed.  
"The Cursed God'll be on our trail."

I sighed, reaching under the costume I still had on, and pulled out the bag of teastones. I pulled one out.

"I wish that, for the time being, we could be undetected by the Cursed God or any of his lackeys."

Golden glow and then I let the dust fall into the bag.

"See?" Parris smiled.  
"Hakuna Matata."

"Careful," Briar joked.  
"Disney might be watching."

I took out another teastone.

"I wish Kyrie and Cyrille would come back to life."

Instead of the usual golden glow, I got nothing. I tried again.

"I wish Kyrie and Cyrille would come back to life."

Still nothing.

"What the hell?"

Penelope sighed, somehow still able to be nice to me even after the hell I put her through.

"Mystic...." she said calmly, putting a hand on my shoulder.  
"It won't work."

"No," I denied pushing her away.  
"No, it's gotta work!"

I pulled out another.

"I wish Kyrie and Cyrille would come back to life!"

"Mystic!"

"No, it's gotta work, damn it!" I yelled into the stone.  
"Damn it, bring them back!"

I dropped to the ground coughing as tears streamed down my face.

"Bring them back!"

Penelope knelt down beside me, and rubbed my back.

"The stones can't bring the dead back," she sighed.  
"I'm sorry, Mystic."

There were a few moments of silence as I tried to calm myself, but eventually, I ended up crying in Penelope's arms.

"Shh," she shushed.  
"I know it hurts."

Rosanna and Safiya knelt down beside us as well. We were like that for a good minute before Adeline spoke up.

"Um, I'm afraid zat sitting in ze streets is not ze best place to comfort a friend."

Of course they weren't. Sighing we stood up and hugged it out.

"I'm sorry, Penelope," I choked.

There was a long silence as we broke away.

"Okay, so where do we relax?" Arya asked impatiently once my composure was back.  
"I could really use somewhere awesome."

Wiping away the tears, this was when the gears of my mind began to work at their top speed. I felt responsible for all of this. The least I could do was provide them with somewhere amazing. I pulled out a teastone. 

"I wish......" I began.

They didn't get to hear the rest. All of a sudden, we were all slowly enveloped in a warm glow of golden light. Quickly letting the dust drop into the bag, I shut it and stuffed it under the dress again as the warm began to close in around us, washing a sense of serenity over us, almost like when you're slowly putting your face underwater in a pool. It gradually closed up into a bubble of light, obscuring us from Paris. 

It was as though my very soul was being cleansed of the heartache I'd put it through, poor thing. And it only seemed a second before the golden light began to sink into the ground. A cool, light air brushed through us as it revealed a large garden hedge. The trickling of a fountain could be heard nearby. We were standing on a small cul-de-sac, but that wasn't the main attraction.

Instead it was the grand hotel.


	67. Everlock Horror Story, Hotel, Part 1: Paved With Gold.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alice's fic "Survive Until Dawn" got me thinking of possibly doing some more fics with us. Like, if y'all are cool with that.
> 
> [CW: Passing out, suicide attempt]

As soon as we stepped inside, we found a luxurious hotel. Nearly everything was embroidered, framed, or embellished with some sort of gold trimming. It looked like something you might find at the Metropolitan, I suppose. At the front desk was a woman smiling.

"Mornin," she greeted us in a jovial Scottish dialect.  
"Thank ye for choosen' our hotel. We already got ye rooms ready, customized te ye liken'."

She threw the keys in our direction, all sixty-two it seemed. As soon as I found mine, I rushed into the elevator, punched the button for the top floor, and rammed my finger on the CLOSE DOORS button multiple times. It skyrocketed up what seemed like 100 stories up to near the luxury suite. 

I turned the key and dashed inside, slamming and locking the door behind me as well as turning the deadbolt. My heart was thumping so intensely and so rapidly that one might think it was going to explode. But I had to be alone; I needed answers to the many questions I had;

  1. Why is everyone so obsessed with keeping me innocent and pure?
  2. Who is or was Lydia Waverly?
  3. Why won't people leave me alone for even 2 seconds?
  4. How do we switch Alice back into her regular body AND get Jas back into theirs?
  5. What exactly are these powers that that lasers was supposed to give me?
  6. Why is the Cursed God so obsessed with me?



All of a sudden, I heard a knocking on the door.

"Mystic?" Penelope called out in a sing-song voice.  
"Sweetheart, please let us in."

"Mystic!" Candy Pop added.

_Seriously?_

I pulled out a stone.

"I wish the door was sound-proofed."

As soon as that was taken care of, I looked around for something-anything-that could trigger a secret of some sort. I pulled out a book from the bookshelf and another slid open. Inside was a large library.

From out of nowhere, my room began to shake. Sighing I pulled out another stone.

"I wish the door was made of reinforced steel."

After that, I shut myself inside of the library, searching book after book after book, on Everlock history, mythology, news articles, archives, lore, anything I could, in hopes of finding answers. But I mostly came up empty. I didn't care though, something was bound to show up sooner or later. I searched through even more, before I finally found something. A diary entry.

_12th October 1976_

_My quest to find an apprentice to pass my techniques onto continues with a possible success. Looking through the Society's files, they dictate those who will be born on certain days, gifting them with certain abilities. I've searched through lunar and solar charts, chronological cartography records, psychological alignments, season and weekday tables. The most potent Seers and Mystics are those with high levels of empathy and_ _creativity._

_And now I have finally found potential. A summer child, roughly 21 years ahead. Penelope cannot know about this, especially not when SHE is in control._

There was no name inside. I sighed in fatigue and defeat. 

"It's not much, but it's.......something...."

* * *

I don't remember much of what happened after. All I know is that I suddenly felt cool washcloths against my face. I opened my eyes to see Safiya, Ro, Matt, Penelope, Calliope, and Candy Pop. 

"How......did you get in here?" I groaned.

"The front desk lady let us in," Candy Pop shrugged.

"We found you out cold," Safiya informed me.  
"You're lucky you didn't get a concussion."

I just pulled back the covers of the bed. I was NOT in the mood.

"Go away," I snipped.

"We just want you to be safe," Penelope began.

Groaning, I went further under the covers. Candy Pop took out a knife and I jumped as something stabbed into the blanket.

"Don't even try!" Safiya warned him as she pulled out the knife. 

"C'mon, it's the only way she's gonna do what we want."

"You're forgetting me," Penelope sniffed.

"Just get out," I repeated.  
"Now."

There was silence for a few moments, then I heard footsteps receding. I waited a few more moments before peeking out of the covers. Calliope was the only one there.

"They're in the main room," she told me.

"What was the 12th of October 1976 all about?"

She huffed despondently.

"You found that entry? I meant to have the entire diary destroyed."

"Who are you really? Who the hell is 'she' in relation to Penelope?"

"I.....I can't explain right now, child."

"Then don't bother talking to me until you can," I grumbled as I pulled the covers over my head. 

* * *

After she left, I made sure all of the doors were locked and secured. I spent most of the week in bed, only getting up to go to the bathroom. Other than that, all I wanted to do was sleep, and wait for death to take me. 

I wasn't sure if the others knew. That was part of why I created this hotel. I could lock myself in my room and let myself just......die. Then it would all end. It was a slow suicide, but I didn't care. I was tired, I was simply tired of living. I had been running from too much, and I just wanted peace. But as long as the Cursed God was out there searching for me, I could never truly find peace. Death for me seemed to be the only solution.

By Sunday evening, I had begun to drift in and out of consciousness. Both the starvation and the dehydration were fighting to take my life equally. Several times I thought I heard screams coming from outside, but I soon began to rationalize them to myself as mere delusions and hallucinations. 

That is until I heard the door burst open. However that was the last thing I remembered before I blacked out.

* * *

I awoke to the feeling of cold wet cloths all over my face, And the sound of concerns mumbling coming from Beyond.

_Is this what heaven is?_

"Mystic, What in the name of sanity were you thinking?" 

Oh Wait. Never mind, this was hell. And that was Penelope's voice. As I came to, I saw her face, displaying a disappointed and infuriated expression.

"You nearly got yourself killed!" 

"That was the idea," I huffed at her.  
"I **wanted** to kill myself of course."

"You know, that's a stupid fucking idea."

This voice was a new one but not at all unfamiliar. Candy Pop, of course. I didn't want him anywhere near me at this point.

"Do you think I give two shits about that?" I snapped back.  
"I just wanted to be somewhere with peace for one damn minute."

"Well, if you succeed in what you were trying to do, you would've been gone for more than a minute," Penelope pointed out.

_Yeah, no shit!_

"Well, I guess you can't win them all."

Penelope huffed.

"Mystic, you're being extremely irresponsible and dangerous," she scolded.  
"Not just to yourself, but to others as well. If you die, the Cursed God will unleash his fury and hell hath no fury like he would."

"Well, the only other alternative is to marry him," I told them. 

"And I sure as hell don't want that."

"No, there IS another alternative," Safiya pointed out as she replaced the cloths on my face.  
"And it's to find the tokens."

"So you want six more people to die?" I hissed.

"No, but I certainly don't want YOU dead either. Why would you even consider killing yourself?"

"I just want this to end," I whimpered.  
"Can't any of you comprehend that?"

"We understand, Mystic," Penelope assured me soothingly, setting me on edge.  
"We want this to end just as much as you do, but your death is not going to be the answer to that. Now just let me be alone with you for a few moments, and I think you'll find that I can perhaps persuade you to see things our way---

"Not a chance in hell," I blurted out as Candy Pop was grabbing some food.  
"I am not letting you hypnotize me!"

"Well, unless you make some sort of vow that you'll never try to kill yourself again, I may have no other choice."

I rolled my eyes and tried to pull the covers over my face, but a gentle hand stopped me.

"Please, Mystic, just promise us you won't try to kill yourself again," Rosanna pleaded with her doe-like eyes.  
"You scared me half to death when we found you."

"I don't know if I can make that promise," I sighed.  
"But even so, hypnosis isn't the answer." 

"Then we'll simply have to stay with you," Penelope concluded.

"What? No!" I exclaimed horrified.

"I think it's for the best right now," Rosanna assured me, gently petting my head. 

"I NEED my alone time, though."

"Didn't you get enough of that when you tried to run away from us?" Candy Pop scoffed.

Annoyed, I tossed a pillow hard in his direction. I heard a grunt and could tell I'd gotten him. 

"I swear to God, if you weren't in Alice's body, I would've probably strangled you by now."

"I'd like to see you try," he scoffed.

"I like the idea of staying here," Safiya agreed.  
"Just to monitor her, see how things turn out."

"I concur," Matpat said as he brought a cup of water.

"Then it's settled," Penelope declared.

"Don't I get a say in this?" I groaned. 

"Not for the time being."

I pulled the covers over my head. It was gonna be a long while.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This week, man. It's just been like all over, up and down.


	68. Everlock Horror Story, Hotel, Part 2: Something's really fucking wrong.

Just as I feared, Matt, Ro, Safiya, Penelope, and Candy Pop took up residency in my hotel room, making sure I wasn't trying to commit suicide on any speed level. I rebelled in any way that I could; I'd refuse food, sleep all the time, refuse medicine. 

"We're just trying to help you," Penelope sighed for the 100th time.

"Well, you're not helping by acting like helicopter parents!"

"Who was the one who tried to sneak out of the room last night?"

"It would've worked, if you hadn't stationed that demon by the doorway."

I, of course, was referring to Candy Pop, who I wasn't gonna change back any time soon. In fact, when I ran into him and he refused to let me escape, I made a wish on a teastone.

"I wish that I was the only one who would be able to get Candy Pop out of Alice's body."

The golden glow and dust sealed it. Both satisfied and upset, I went back to my room. Hey, if I was gonna go through hell, I sure as it wasn't gonna go alone.

"Just eat something, please," Ro pleaded. 

"I'm not hungry," I lied, trying to stand up only to find myself getting lightheaded and Saf and Matt running over and grabbing me before I hit the floor.

"You haven't eaten in a week," Matt pointed out as they carried me back to my bed.  
"You need something."

"I'm starting to wonder if there's some merit to having Penelope hypnotize you," Safiya considered.  
"We really don't want you to die."

"And I wanna get back in my old body," Candy Pop added.

I glared fire into his eyes.

"I'm not gonna help you, you selfish bastard!" I spat angrily as they set me in bed.

"Oh. I'M selfish?" he scoffed.  
"Who's the one trying to commit suicide?"

If I was strong enough, I would've bitch-slapped him upside the head, but I was too weak.

"Call suicide selfish one more time," I growled.  
"And I'll get you out of that body and place it inside of a statue of Christ!"

"Well," he spat, though I could tell he was afraid.  
"Looks like I may have touched a nerve."

"You're damn right you did! Why the hell are you even here? Get out."

"I was just trying to---"

This time he did sound slightly sincere, but I was past my boiling point now.

"Out!" I nearly screamed, but it took a lot of my energy, causing me to nearly pass out.

I heard sniffling and a pair of footsteps receding. Woozy, I felt a gentle hand prop up my head. My vision was blurry, but I saw Ro place a bottle of water in front of me.

"It's from the hotel," she assured me, still remembering the parasite incident.

This was when I caved. I opened my mouth and nearly washed the whole thing down.

"More," I panted.  
"I need....more."

Ro rushed over to the fridge and grabbed some water as Candy Pop walked back in.

"I thought I told you---!"

"I just came to give this to you," he sighed. 

He held out a fair-sized gift wrapped in blue paper and tied with red ribbon. I softened up a bit.

"Oh," I exclaimed shocked.  
"Um, thanks, I guess."

"There's more from the others," he admitted.  
"But......this one's from me."

He didn't say another word, just simply left, though I noticed that he had some strange burn marks on his hands, even with my blurriness. My vision was returning slightly as I regained my strength. 

"What did he mean?" I wondered weakly.

"The others got together and got a few things, made a few cards, to make you feel better," Ro informed me.  
"I even made some cupcakes, gluten and dairy free."

All of a sudden, a loud, thundering moan came from my stomach. 

"I.....need food," I admitted.

"How about I make you some tea?" Penelope offered.

"No, I don't trust you that much," I replied, not knowing what kind of psychoactive witchcraft she'd use on it.

* * *

I started to work my strength back up, beginning with eating plainer foods like rice and then moving up to finer foods, eventually being able to eat those cupcakes Ro made, which were amazing! Meanwhile, Ro, Matt, Safiya, and Penelope decided to stay with me, but Candy Pop stopped coming around. I began to miss him, believe it or not.

One night when my strength was back up, I crept silently over to the table where the package had been left and snatched it up before running back to my bed. I carefully untied the bow and peeled off the wrapping paper. Inside was a white box. I opened the box and found a variety of things. 

He'd gotten me seven bags of candy, for one. Something else within the ensemble was a small music box, another was a pocket watch, but there were two things that stood out.

One was a red bracelet. Taking a closer look, I realized it had a cross on it. But the biggest part was that there was a copy of the Bible neatly wrapped in tissue paper. I remembered back to those burn marks. 

_He..........hurt himself to give me a present?_

Tears came to my eyes. I pulled out a teastone and whispered. 

"I wish that Candy Pop was in the living room of my suite."

I heard an exclamation and I rushed inside. Sure enough, there he was. And he hadn't been lying about the presents either. There was a small stack or two of them and an even bigger stack of cards.

"What the hell?" he grumbled.

"Hey," I coughed.

Whirling around he sighed in disgust when he saw me.

"What? You wanna yell at me some more?"

I shook my head.

"How are your hands?"

This caught him off-guard.

"My what?"

"Your hands."

After a few moments of contemplation, he sheepishly held them out. They still looked sore, no better than when I last saw them.

"You.....gave me a Bible," I sighed.

He nodded. 

"Yup."

"I'm so sorry. You didn't need to go through all that," I assured him.

"I did," he sighed.  
"I do really want out of this body, but.....I was being a huge jerk back there. I'm sorry."

"I accept your apology."

"So, are we cool?"

I nodded.

"Sure."

We just stared at each other for a few more moments.

"So, uh, you wanna maybe stay here tonight?" I asked.

He shook his head.

"Sorry, but my room's pretty bitchin'. They definitely customized it to me."

"Oh," I exclaimed in disappointment.

But that's when I remembered.

"Before you go, I wanna see if you can help me identify this," I told him as I took him over to the book and showed him the diary entry.  
"Any ideas of why Calliope wanted me as her apprentice?"

He shrugged.

"Your guess is as good as mine, kid. In the meantime, I'll see if I can find something about this mystery, or mysteries, but otherwise, I gotta hit it. Night."

And he went out the front, leaving it open. Groaning, I went over to close it when I saw two figures up ahead, talking. I could barely make out their conversation, but it sounded like the receptionist lady and a guest. Once they started getting louder, I heard them better.

"-Can't force us to stay here!" the guest shouted infuriated, and a little afraid.  
"I work for the Everlock Gazette! I'm gonna expose your Stepfordian resort for the Hellhole it----"

All of a sudden, he stopped as the front desk lady seemed to stab something into his neck. His head dropped.

"Nu what was it ye were sayen, Mr. Donal?" she asked too sweetly.

"I'll tell everyone about how amazing this hotel is," he droned euphorically with a few giggles in between.  
"I never want to leave."

"Don't worry. Ye niver weell," she assured him maliciously, patting him on the head.  
"I'll mak sure yer all nice and obedeent for the Cursed God when he and hes queen Mestec are together at last. Though I feel a desterben force keepen em frey findin us. I thenk that bonny Mestec lass es here. En fact, I bet she put the spell on thes hotel an I bet she was the one whoo de'nt want te be veseted that first mornen. Ef I can find her an bren her te the Cursed God, I'm sure he'll reward me quite weel."

"Perhaps I can help you, mistress," the guests chuckled euphorically.

"I certainly hope ye'd say that. Soon we weel roond up the others an search for her. I tell ye; it'll be a great day when the Cursed God can bren that barrier doon."

"Yes it will be, mistress."

I didn't bother to listen much longer. Trying to keep from her hearing me, I slowly and quietly shut the door before dead-bolting it and quietly screaming. Using another teastone, I resummoned Candy Pop.

"What the hell?" he grumbled.

"We've got major trouble," I panted fearfully.  
"We have to warn the others and we have to leave this hotel. The receptionist isn't letting people leave. It's a training ground for servants and slaves to the Cursed God, and that bitch is trying to sniff me out."

Without another word, I rushed in and flipped the lights on and off, causing them to wake up, groaning.

"What's going on?" Ro groaned cutely.

"The hotel receptionist lady is working for the Cursed God," I panted.  
"We gotta get out of here."

"Get oot of here?" a sickingly-sweet voice asked behind me.

The four of them stood behind me and at my sides. Sure enough, in entered crazy Scottish chick.

"Why woold ye ever want te leave, especially when we weell be haven a special guest comen here soon?"


	69. Everlock Horror Story, Hotel, Part 3: Seige of the Resort

I was terrified as that crazy Scottish bitch stepped inside. Didn't I put a spell to keep the Cursed God and his lackeys from finding us? And how the hell did she know about it?

"Weell, weell, weell," she chuckled.  
"I fegured ye'd come roond here. Yer just as bonny of a lass as the Cursed God has said ye are. So ennocent an pure. No wonder he wants ye so badly."

"So what? You're gonna just take me to him?" I scoffed.

"Oh nay," she shook her head, chuckling.  
"That'd be too easy. I'm just goen to undo tha' li'l spell ye put on my hotel."

She pulled out a large stone and whispered into it. All of a sudden, I felt a golden glow melt from us and I began to panic. She then took out another stone and rubbed her thumb around it three times.

"Master, et's me," she announced.  
"I've got ye bonny bride stayen at my hotel........Aye, she's en my sight........She put a spell on et originally........I remove et for ye.......Ye'll be here whee'?.........I understand.........Aye, I'll keep her untel yer here."

She put the stone back in her pocket.

"Excuse us, bitch!" Nikita's voice declared.  
"But Mystic's not going anywhere with that creep, and neither are we!"

"Weell then, I'm afraid ye have no choice en the matter," she sniffed as Nikita and a few others walked in.  
"Cause what my master wants, he always gets!"

"Not this time, hon," Manny scoffed. 

"I thenk our special guest might desaree with ye."

“You mean…Envy?” Candy Pop gasped hopefully.

For a moment, the lady looked confused.

“Who es tha'? I neever heard of an ‘Envy’!”

“He got paired with Calvin recently…?”

Her confused look shifted to one of sudden comprehension, and malice. 

“Ah. Tha' young mon!”

“W-what do you know about him!?” I shivered. 

“I know he's gone an' swetched sides. Calven always gets what he wants one way or another, jus' like my master.”

"That's a lie!" Candy Pop snapped.  
"He'd never do that!"

"Ye so sure aboo' that? I also know hes kind's go' a few genes tha' coold be useful te us. I heard one of them maks hem a bloodthersty keller for who he's worken for."

I gulped, but before I could respond, Candy Pop ran around us. Luckily she didn't seem to notice.

"Se, enstead of acten se stubborn, hu aboo' ye surrender nice an peacefully, aye?" 

He grabbed a nearby vase and....

_CRASH!_

brought it down on her head. She shuddered once, and fell still, hitting the floor with a hard thud.

"Is she....?" I began hesitantly.

"Don't know, don't care, just run!" Candy Pop exclaimed. 

I grabbed Ro's hand and we ran out to the elevator. Matt, Safiya, and Penelope followed suit, as does Candy Pop. I practically punched the down arrow. Finally it opened and we dashed inside. I pressed the button for the lobby and then the door close buttons, my heart palpitating. 

"Wait," Ro gasped.  
"What about the others?"

"We need," I panted.  
"To secure a spell on this hotel."

"But still, it wouldn't hurt to warn them."

Sighing, I pull out a teastone.

"I wish all of the other guests, writers, and agents were in the lobby."

The stone glowed golden; just to be safe I pulled out another, but the doors to the lobby opened and I nearly dropped the stone in fear as I heard a demented cackle. 

"Shit," I groaned.

The clowns had already gotten to them. Leah, Bird, Dooper, Nikita, Manny, and Calliope were held captive by one of each. Frantically I tried to press the door close button, but the Killer Clown Leader handed Leah off to Sally and dashed for the elevator as the doors were closing. I tried to stay as far back against the wall as I could, but it was fruitless. 

I felt her gloved hand snatch my wrist and pull me out. The others followed suit.

"Well, well, well," the clown leader cackled as I struggled against her.  
"What do we have here? A queen and two potential brides!"

"Potential brides?" Selene wondered.

She turned to Selene.

"Oh, you didn't here? Morticia and Magician are gonna fight it out for the Carnival Master's affections."

"Magician?" I spat.

"That bitch over there," she groaned pointing to Leah.

"So you're giving us nicknames now?" Dooper gasped.  
"What's mine? What's mine?"

"Can it, Stuntpig!"

He shut his mouth as the Killer Clown Leader pulled out a small star-patterned bag and opened it.

"Oh, oh, can I do it?" Lucy squealed as she approached us.  
"I wanna do it! I wanna do it!"

Rolling her eyes, the leader handed the psycho girl the bag as she chortled excitedly.

"This is basically the Collar of Control, but in pixie dust form," she informed me.

Immediately, Penelope, Safiya, Candy Pop, Matt, and Ro grabbed me from behind and tried to pull me away, but I felt a small drop on my head. I bent over, shook it out of my hair, and she took the opportunity to dump the whole bag on my head, cackling wildly.

"What the hell'd you just do, bitch?" Nikita screamed.

"She's gonna be more obedient than you were!" Lucy rasped in reply. 

I felt myself growing sleepy, hazy. I tried to fight it, but the feeling persisted. I shook the rest of it off and into her face; she yelled in annoyance and began to sputter. 

"Let's get her out of here!" Penelope exclaimed.

"Going somewhere?" a deep voice purred maliciously.

"Hell......probably....." I murmured as I fell further into a trance. 

"I don't think so," the Cursed God cackled.


	70. Everlock Horror Story, Hotel, Part 4: When Desires Collide

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arthur approaches Candy Pop with a deal, and now he must make one of the most difficult decisions he's ever had to make in his life.

Mystic collapsed into the group's arms with the Killer Clown Leader still maintaining a hold on her wrist. She looked really cute though. She had a dreamy and peaceful smile on her face. Lucy, meanwhile, had also dropped unconscious, but she looked kind of adorable while she was sleeping. 

"Well, at least that's over with," Safiya sighed in relief.

The clowns cackled as Sally handed another star-patterned bag to the leader.

"You really think it was gonna be that easy?" she giggled as she pulled out another. Skipping over, she grabbed ahold of Ro's wrist and flung the contents of the bag in her face. Ro began to cough and Matt tried to shield Safiya and the others from the dust, but just then, Ro dropped limp, also stuck in a deep trance and also smiling adorably.

"In fact," Luke chortled maliciously as he pulled out a third, heading towards Candy Pop.  
"We got a whole bunch of these thanks to those blueprints our master's little bird told us about."

Immediately everyone turned to face Bird, who Luke had handed off to Mickey.

"I swear," she stammered.  
"I'm NOT who he's talking about."

"Are you so sure about that?" Angel sniffed.

"Nah, she's right," the Clown Leader affirmed.  
"Larky's not with us."

"But wait," Sally wondered.  
"Shouldn't she--?"

She was cut off by a struggler who Wilmer was carrying in with his demon arm; it was Alice/Jas.

"No!" Candy Pop exclaimed.

"Where did you even get these blueprints anyway?" Selene wondered.  
"And furthermore, blueprints for what?"

"Blueprints for a doomsday device that'll put Mesmera over there to shame," the Leader giggled, pointing at Penelope.

"I'd like to thank you for them, Calliope," the Cursed God smirked.  
"Without them, we would never have my bride in the vulnerable state she's in."

Calliope's face blanched as the others looked at her.

"YOU'RE the traitor?" Tristen yelled.

"No," Jael gasped.  
"I know she's not."

"A likely story," Angel sniffed.

"I swear," Calliope replied calmly.  
"I would never work for him."

"Oh really?" the Cursed God smirked.  
"So then I suppose I just happened to stumble upon Mystic's future record back in 1976? I see now; you 'accidentally' let Lilith see them."

"You leave her out of this, you dolose mongrel!" Penelope snared angrily, but still articulately.

"Why would I? She is a janizary of mine, after all. My most dutiful and loyal one at that. And now if you'll excuse me, my bride and I have a wedding to prepare for."

"Not a chance in Hell are you taking her away!"

Like a protective lioness, Penelope snatched Mystic away from the clown's wrist.

"Safiya, Matt, grab Ro!"

"But what about Envy?" Candy Pop asked impatiently.

That was when Arthur approached him.

"I'd actually like to offer a proposition regarding him," he whispered.

"Not interested," Candy Pop scoffed as Mystic and Ro were being carried back into the elevator and up to the top floor.

He shrugged.

"I suppose you don't want to see him that badly then."

This caught Candy Pop off-guard.

"I'm listening," he urged.

"It's quite simple; bring Mystic to us in her vulnerable state and we'll give you Envy, safe and sound."

This made him feel conflicted. On one hand, he didn't want Mystic to become the Cursed God's queen, but on the other hand, he needed to see Envy. 

"I'll let you muddle over it for some time," Arthur offered him.  
"When you're ready to hand her over, just give out a call."

And he left.


	71. Everlock Horror Story, Hotel, Part 5: The Boiling Point

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group learns just how powerful that pixie dust is, and Candy Pop loses it.

They returned to the suite, where Penelope dealt with the front desk lady (And by dealt with, she basically locked her inside of a guest room and barricaded the door from the outside, before setting Mystic on her bed and Ro beside her.

"How long do you think this will last?" Matt wondered worriedly as Candy Pop finally walked in.  
"Oh hey, there you are. Where were you?"

This tied his stomach in knots. How was he supposed to tell them about Arthur's deal?

"I was.......talking with someone."

Technically it wasn't a lie. 

"Okay," Penelope replied suspiciously before returning to study the two of them. 

Using her glove, she took a small sample of the powder from their heads, and inspected it.

"This is modified pixie dust," she concluded.  
"That is, if you're going to call it by its street name. This one is specified to both obedience and to be a truth serum."

"Truth serum?" Nikita gasped as she rushed in along with most of the others.

"How did you get away from them?" Safiya gasped.

"Plot convenience," Bird shrugged.

"Okay, seriously, you gotta give me some of the drugs you're taking," Dooper told her.

"Well," Candy Pop smirked.  
"I've got a few questions to ask Lil Miss Mystic."

Perhaps she'd finally tell him the answer to why she was running away. But would it really be that easy?

"How.....powerful of a truth serum is it?" he wondered to Penelope.

"Extremely," she concluded.  
"Even the smallest morsel of this can make you tell the entire truth."

That settled it.

"Um, I've got a few questions to ask her as well," Nikita scoffed.

"So do I," Safiya added.  
"But I think we can all get the answers we're looking for."

Safiya decided to go first.

"Mystic, tell us the truth. Why do you make self-deprecating comments and jokes about yourself so much?"

Almost immediately she responded in a sort of dreamy, breathy, and far-off tone. Even Candy Pop thought it was kinda cute.

"Because the social skills classes, bullying, isolation, and abuse in my childhood made me feel like being autistic is wrong, and I'm scared to get hurt again if I was so open about my strengths."

"My turn," Nikita piped up.  
"Why the hell did you try to kill yourself twice?"

"Because I thought that if I was dead, the Cursed God would have no reason to go after you all."

"I mean, I guess by some vein of logic," Bird piped up.  
"That makes sense."

"Yes, but she's wrong," Penelope corrected.

"Okay, enough beating around the bush. It's my turn for an answer now," Candy Pop groaned as he stepped towards Mystic.  
"I want to know the full and complete truth of this; what are you doing trying to get away from everybody who wants to help you!?"

Mystic remained silent for several moments as everyone looked at Candy Pop.

"What? Was it a dumb question?"

"No," Safiya shook her head.  
"It's just I've been wondering the same thing; I didn't think anyone would ask her."

"Come to think of it, I wanna know too," Andrea R inquired. 

A ripple of agreement echoed through the bedroom. But suddenly Mystic's mouth began to move. Everyone suddenly became so quiet and still that you could hear a piece of lint drop.

"The........the truth......the truth....is.......is." she began.

"Yes? Yes?" Candy Pop gasped hopefully.

Then she stopped.

"No," Candy Pop laughed nervously.  
"This isn't supposed to happen. I'm supposed to get a fucking answer!"

"She must be extremely reluctant to give that away," Penelope sighed.  
"Even a truth serum as powerful as this is a match against a stubborn mind. Try asking her again."

He took a deep breath, and repeated,

"What are you doing trying to get away from everybody who wants to help you!?"

Once again her mouth twitched and opened.

"The truth is........that.........that........."

Candy Pop's heart beat hopefully and ecstatically. He was all ears.

"The truth is that..........it's none of your damn business," she replied in an angry, but still cute and dreamy tone. 

Immediately his heart dropped and his eye began to twitch.

"Mystic," he laughed infuriated.  
"If you don't give me the truth, I'm gonna fucking strangle you."

"That IS the truth," she replied.

He felt defeated and angered and his mind wandered towards Arthur's offer. Maybe the Cursed God could get her to answer that. Wait! No! He wasn't supposed to be thinking like this. But he wanted to see Envy again so damn badly!! It was eating away at him.

"Mystic," Bird piped up softly.  
"I know this might be a stretch, but do you know who Lydia Waverly is or was?"

"Somewhat," she replied.

"Is she a part of solving this mystery?" Alina gasped.

"She is."

"Then who is she?" Sparkle growled impatiently.

"She.........she was a princess," Mystic began.  
"Back in the Medieval Renaissance, or MidRen for short."

"What does she have to do with this?" Galaxy wondered.

"She.........got into a muddle with some witches......and the Cursed God.......that's all I know."

All of a sudden, Mystic shut her eyes as her head thumped against the pillow. Screams and gasps echoed throughout as Penelope checked for a vital sign.

"She's still breathing," she assured everyone, prompting a sigh of relief.

"So we've basically learned nothing new," Selene scoffed.

"No, we found out a few things," Erica assured them.  
"We have a little more info on this Lydia chick. Time period is a huge indicator. If we can find accounts involving those eras of time, we can figure out more about how she relates to our mess."

The others began to discuss theories and ideas. No one noticed Candy Pop in a fetal position in a corner, tilting his head from side to side like a clock. 

"I......I have to get that answer," he trembled.  
"I have to see Envy."

His sense of morality began to all blend together. He'd been holding in a lot of frustration, but Mystic not giving him the answer he needed, even while under the influence of an extremely powerful truth serum, was the boiling point. He'd finally snapped.

"I'll call out for Arthur tomorrow night," he giggled under his breath.  
"Then everything will be okay."

But in his fit of madness, he failed to notice that someone actually DID notice him. And she was NOT about to let this happen.


	72. Everlock Horror Story, Hotel, Part 6: Snap.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Candy Pop prepares to hand Mystic over to the Cursed God, but someone's been suspecting he'd break sooner or later.
> 
> (CW: Death, suicide mention)

It was the dead of the night the next night. Candy Pop awoke in his room and walked out of it, up the stairs and into the suite. Almost like clockwork. But it didn't matter how he got there. He had only two goals. To get that damning answer, and to get Envy back. 

He giggled under his breath as he muttered a nursery rhyme over and over under his breath. 

_Hickory Dickory Dock._  
_The mouse ran up the clock._  
_The clock struck one._  
_The mouse ran down.  
_ _Hickory Dickory Dock._

It'd been playing in his head in a clocklike fashion ever since he'd made the decision to give her to the Cursed God. As he entered the room, he was careful not to awaken the others as he crept towards the bed. There were Mystic and Ro, still sleeping like angels.

 _Hickory Dickory Dock._  
_The mouse ran up the clock._  
_The clock struck one._  
_The mouse ran down.  
_ _Hickory Dickory Dock._

He reached over and tested Mystic's scalp. To his relief, the powder was still in her hair. He then tapped on her shoulder.

"Mystic, wake up," he giggled madly.

Like an automaton, her eyes shot wide open, her glasses still on her face. While her eyes were open and pointed at the ceiling, her senses were shut. 

"Mystic, get out of bed and follow me."

"I will," she droned dreamily as she stepped out in her white nightgown (Candy Pop had insisted they put her in a white nightgown).

Laughing maniacally, but quietly, he led her out of the suite and towards the elevator, thinking it was just the two of them, but unbeknownst to him, someone had been keeping tabs on him, and she was already one step ahead.

He pressed the button to open the elevator.

 _Hickory Dickory Dock._  
_The mouse ran up the clock._  
_The clock struck one._  
_The mouse ran down.  
_ _Hickory Dickory-----_

"What do you think you're doing?" a woman glared with her arms folded as the doors opened to reveal her. 

Candy Pop gasped as Penelope snatched Mystic and pulled her into the elevator without another word, pressing the doors close button.

"But....but....but......but...but..but..but....."

He stammered, but couldn't get an answer out of himself. The elevator shut and the two of them went down to the fiftieth floor, as Penelope knew there was a way to get the dust and, subsequently, effects out of Mystic.

Candy Pop simply stood there, numb, for a good five minutes. His eyes became dark and soulless and he walked down to his room. It wasn't for anything in particular. He just had to grab a little something.......

* * *

Meanwhile as the elevator began to slowly plunge downward, Penelope hugged Mystic tightly, trying to rid her scalp of some of the residue. But thanks to Calliope, who was waiting at the spot per her request. It was taking a while for the elevator to make its way down, so Penelope looked at Mystic curiously, thinking about one of the last things Horace had told her. 

_“Take good care of Mystic, my rose. She reminds me of you when we first met.”_

Her eyes welled up a bit as she remembered him. But she also decided to inspect Mystic. Physically, Penelope remembered herself being taller and having a little lighter, shorter blonde hair at the time and she was a bit thinner than Mystic. But personality-wise, Horace had been right. At that stage of her life, Penelope was hopeful, adventurous, comparatively innocent to the present day her, creative, a bit shy, a little self-deprecating at times, a bit of a romantic, idealistic, intelligent, but the biggest similarity? She and Mystic both strived to be individuals. The only difference was that Mystic seemed to have almost no problem with showing most of her true colors. Penelope, at that age, had been quite terrified because she thought it would get in the way of her proving to others that she wasn't just some snobby rich girl who expected everything to be handed to her on a silver platter.

But luckily, around that time, the elevator dinged, opening to the 50th floor. 

"Alright, Mystic," she sighed gently.  
"Come with me, dearie. We're going to wash out your hair."

"That sounds nice," she sighed dreamily, making Penelope giggle with endearment. 

She reminded Penelope of that one Irish witch in that series of wizard and witch kids.......what was it.....Pigfarts....?

No, of course not. What sort of dignified author would name a school Pigfarts?

"Unless she decided to suddenly drop it on her followers after it was done, but que será, será."

She led Mystic into the hotel spa and salon where she found Calliope, as well as Alison, Jael, and Ro.

"How did you get here so quickly?" Penelope wondered.

"Why did you take so long?" Alison retorted.

"My apologies, but it seems that our resident demon has gone insane."

This caused the three others to blanche.

"What?" Jael exclaimed somberly.

"Candy Pop's been offered a deal; bring Mystic to them in this state and he gets to see Envy again."

"Is Envy still stuck in the 1920s?"

Penelope nodded.

"Well then, we should be fine," she sighed in relief.  
"I had Katsumi help place a spell on the gravestone that he's going to die on."

"Die on?" Penelope nearly screamed.

"He's going to be fine though," Calliope assured her.  
"If his chlorophyll lands even near it, he'll be transported here, good as new. And now that we have that out of the way...."

She pulled out two bottles each of shampoo and conditioner.

"This should help remove it. The Cursed God was right. I created that pixie dust in the hopes of using it against our enemies, but it seems the tables have turned on us."

"No," Alison claimed.  
"We still have information on Lydia Waverly."

"But didn't we always?" Calliope wondered.

"We're going to let the others find that out for themselves. Luckily, I happen to know that this serum also allows them to recall certain events in history. We need only ask, whether they're affected or if the effects are reversed. But I believe we should begin."

Alison gently grabbed ahold of Mystic while Calliope took ahold of Ro. They led them to the hairwash stations of the spa and salon.

* * *

Penelope sat there anxiously for a good fifteen minutes.

"Are you sure they know what they're doing?" Penelope inquired to Jael.

She nodded.

"You and I both know that Calliope is one of the most trustworthy members of the Society."

"But then how did the Cursed God find out about Mystic all those years ago?"

Jael shook her head.

"That's one thing even she won't tell me," she sighed.  
"I believe that there was something she did that she regrets."

"You mean.....just like I did."

Penelope bowed her head in shame as she remembered that fateful morning before the world became a blur to her. She felt a gentle hand touch her shoulder.

"What happened was likely something you had no control over either."

"I should've---"

"No," Jael blurted out firmly.  
"Remember; we don't look at what we should have done once we did it. We look at what we can do next time. Dwelling on the past serves no purpose."

Penelope nodded weakly. All of a sudden, she heard footsteps and she perked up. Coming from around the corner were Calliope, Alison, Mystic, and Ro, the latter two looking a bit dazed.

"What the hell happened?" Mystic groaned.  
"I feel like I've been sleeping for years. I'm starving!"

"I feel a little groggy," Ro yawned cutely.

"Did it work?" Penelope asked hopefully.

"Both were cleansed for the most part," Alison affirmed.  
"Now it's a matter of them having a second treatment tomorrow as a precaution, and their bodies filtering out the rest."

Penelope practically burst into tears in relief. 

"Hey," Ro piped up.  
"Would any of you happen to know about Lucy and Nicholas BEFORE?"

Mystic looked at Ro confused.

"What do you mean before?"

"I dunno. I just....I had this dream or vision or something.....where I saw Lucy and Nicholas as an ordinary father-daughter duo, and then they just seemed evil."

"Blood Corruption," Jael sighed.

"Blood Corruption?" Mystic asked.

"The Cursed God is a long-distant relative of the Carnival Master. Their family has had a gene that makes them more susceptible to corruption. He must've figured out how to take control of Nicholas through his blood."

"Wait, wait, wait. Like, through his actual blood cells?"

Jael nodded.

"And then he must've used Nicholas to corrupt Lucy."

"I was having visions or something as well," Mystic explained.  
"I saw this girl......she was making a deal with these women in a forest and then I saw a vision of her committing suicide."

"We'll talk of that another time," Jael assured them.  
"For now I think we should all get some rest."

* * *

As Jael guided Ro and I to the elevator, I couldn't help but notice Penelope staring at me with a particular fondness. Not in a crush way, more in a maternal way. But when I got to the elevator, I had a sickening feeling in my stomach, and stumbled.

"Mystic," Penelope gasped.  
"What's wrong?"

"It must be a side effect of the recovery," Calliope assured her.

"I feel like we should stay down here," I trembled as we rode up.  
"My instincts are telling me that danger is happening." 

"I'm sure it's nothing," Ro assured me.  
"But just in case, if you want Saf and I can sleep next to you tonight if it'll make you feel better."

It felt like a long ascent to the top, but once we got to the 100th floor and the doors opened, an eerie anxiety overtook me. The halls were particularly quiet. 

"Something's definitely wrong," I gasped as I pointed at a red trail; bloody footsteps that led down the stairs from around the corner near my suite. Opening my door, I was nearly attacked by Matt.

"Where were you?" he asked panicked.

"Why?"

"Safiya's missing, and so is Leah."

Ro and I looked at each other, remembering the bloodprints. I rushed out into the hall to find a disturbing site.

On the wall written in red was this;

_Two slain one for each of the goals.  
_ _Each day you fail I take one pair of souls._

I was afraid to look, but I forced myself to. 

Blood was splattered everywhere and the bodies were positioned so terribly. But there was no doubt on the identities. Alina and Galaxy had been the next two to be slain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> RIP Alina and Galaxy.
> 
> Might make a reappearance, but idk.


	73. Everlock Horror Story, Hotel, Part 7: No Other Terms.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (CW: Graphic descriptions of gore, innards, etc,.)

There they were; their corpses were mangled up in the hallway by my room. But it was all neatly arranged. Flowers drawn on their skin. Their fingers peeled open at the top and placed in a small vase to look like flowers, sitting in a bloody-red vase. The innards, stuffed to look like sausages, were neatly spiraled around and on two plates as Arya and Celeste's horrified heads, decapitated, sat atop each one. And in the center of it all was a ticking clock. 

Tick....Tick......Tick......Tick.....

It was.....as if.....he was.......trying to........

I plugged my ears and tried to turn away from this hypnotic trap when I heard maniacal laughter in the distance and then....

"Where are you, my little Mystic mousie? Time to run up the clock again!"

Candy Pop had officially lost touch with reality. I grabbed Matt and Ro's hands and all of us ran into my bedroom. 

"Oh my God," I panted, feeling a cold flush rush through me.

And then I realized the other thing;

"Wait. What about Safiya and Nora?"

"They're missing," he repeated.

"Oh, this is just great," I sighed in desperation.

Next thing I knew I heard the ticking again, right outside my door. 

"Come out, little mousie," Candy Pop tittered maddened with who-knows-what.  
"Don't make me come in there!"

I heard something scratch against the wood. 

"He's trapped us inside," Calliope panted.

Quickly I pulled out a teastone.

"I wish that Safiya and Nora were with us."

The stone glowed and they appeared.

"Thank God!" Nora gasped.  
"We were just about to be infected!"

"Yeah, well we've got pretty big problems ourselves," I whimpered as Safiya grabbed ahold of me.  
"Arya and Celeste are dead. Homicide."

I quickly pulled out another teastone.

"I wish that Candy Pop would walk back to his room and stay in there for the rest of the night."

All of a sudden, we heard the ticking recede and the tittering fade as his feet clomped back. Once he was gone, we breathed a collective sigh of relief. 

I pulled out another teastone.

"I wish that this hotel was off of the Cursed God's radar until I say it's back on."

Another golden glow and I realized that my bag was mostly full of dust.

"We're gonna have to plant this soon," I realized.

All of a sudden, I heard a knock on the door.

"Guys? Open up!" a panicked voice blathered from outside.

Ciel's voice, but Alice's soul. I rushed over and opened it up. She fell inside, her face paper pale.

"There's something outside---" she began.

"We know," Matt told her.  
"We saw it ourselves."

"Candy Pop's gone completely off-the-rails. It was probably because of the answer I gave him."

"Just tell him the truth," Penelope groaned.

"The truth is that it's none of his damn business. And it's not yours either!"

"Well, he's clearly not going to accept that for an answer, and if you don't give the real answer to him, I will douse you in the truth serum, get you drunk, AND hypnotize you."

"THAT IS THE REAL ANSWER, YOU BITCH!" I screamed angrily.  
"YOU KNOW, I'M SICK AND TIRED OF YOU THREATENING TO ENTRANCE ME. IN CASE YOU HAVEN'T NOTICED, I'M NOT SOME SORT OF DOLL THAT YOU CAN PRACTICE YOUR FUCKING MAGIC ON!"

Without another word, I stormed off and slammed the bedroom door, locking it behind me. 

* * *

The next day, Mystic wouldn't come out, not to eat, drink, nothing. They tried to burst it open, but Mystic had barricaded the door. She'd also wished for Candy Pop to be prohibited from leaving his room until she said he could leave. 

After half a week went by, at least half of the guests attempted to break inside. And, holy shit. Nikita was infuriated this time. 

"I swear, if she doesn't open this fucking door, I'm gonna HURT SOMEONE!" she shrieked. 

There was no response. Once again, Nikita tried to kick it down. 

"Bitch, cut it out already!" Manny groaned.  
"You've been at that for 3 hours."

"I don't care. I'm gonna fucking get in there even if I have to break a nail!"

Manny's eyes widened. Nikita would never break a nail for anything, so for her to say she would is huge.

"Mystic, stop being immature and open the door," she growled. 

There was no response. All of a sudden, Ro got an idea, but it was one she felt unsure of.

"I know this is gonna sound ridiculous, and maybe dangerous," she gulped.  
"But what if we let Candy Pop out and have HIM try to break in?"

All of a sudden, there was a shriek from the other side of the wall. Footsteps pattered and Mystic opened one of the doors to the chain lock. 

"Nikita, I can see holes from your heels on my side. And I'M the immature one? Who's been throwing a hissy fit at a damn door? And I swear, if you dare even go near Candy Pop---"

"Then let us in," Gabbie interrupted.

"NO!" she snapped making everyone jump and making her feel lightheaded causing her to stumble and undo the chain lock as she fell. Instinctively, Ro dove and caught her just before she hit her head against the floor. Mystic's eyes began to water.

"Was this another suicide attempt?" Colleen asked, concerned as she and Ro helped Mystic to the bed.

She shook her head.

"Penelope threatened to hypnotize me, get me drunk, and dump that pixie dust shit on me to tell Candy Pop the truth to that stupid question."

"You mean 'what are you doing trying to get away from everybody who wants to help you?'" Liza clarified.

Nodding, Mystic helped push herself onto the bed. 

"But the truth IS that it's none of his business. God, why does he even wanna know so badly?"

Everyone looked at each other confused.

"Look, if any of you are gutsy enough to go talk to that psycho, ask him why he wants to know so damn badly. If his reasoning is sound, then I'll give him an answer."

"Just give us the answer now," Nikita snapped.

Mystic pursed her lips and folded her arms like a child.

"If you don't tell us, we'll have Ro tickle you," Safiya scolded.

"Do whatever you want to me," she shrugged.  
"But I'm not giving an answer until that bastard says why he wants to know. Those are the only terms I'm accepting. And just for that, if his answer is 'because,' I'm gonna make sure his spirit is permanently trapped inside of a Bible and that is a fucking promise."

Everyone looked at each other until someone spoke up.

"I'll go talk to him," JC shrugged.

"Me too," Roi piped up.

"Yeah, I'll go too," Jesse agreed.

"I'll tag along," Alice volunteered.  
"He'll be more likely to give an answer if I'm there."

"We need to even out the ratio," Liza exclaimed.  
"So Tana and Nikita, y'all tag along to balance out the guys."

"Why are you volunteering me?" Tana spattered.

"I'm not going," Nikita shook her head.  
"If I do, Miss Gloom over here might try to kill herself again."

"Fine," Andrea Brooks sighed.  
"Eva and I will go."

"I didn't volunteer for this."

"Do you want that answer?"

"¡Ay Dios mio!" Lele huffed in frustration.  
"Enough of this bullshit! I'll go with Andrea then. I just wanna get that damn answer out of that chick!"

With that settled, the six of them headed out to find the deranged demon.


	74. Meanwhile 2 The Squeakquel: Electric Boogaloo

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN THEY JUST DISAPPEARED?" 

The Cursed God was infuriated. He'd just been informed that Safiya and Leah, the two who they were holding for ransom, had just disappeared before the clowns' eyes.

"I don't know what happened!" Lascivious Luke stammered.  
"I was about to put the parasites in them, but then there was this golden light and they were gone."

A sudden "hmm" piped up.

"This is a most strange occurrence," a woman with red hair wondered.  
"You don't suppose that the little doll got word of the teastones, perhaps?"

"She did, indeed," Willie sighed.  
"Most of what she has now is a bag of dust though."

The Cursed God gave a single laugh.

"If she'd agreed to be my bride, she'd have vaults full of those teastones!"

"There's still hope yet," the woman replied.  
"Perhaps I could sneak that love potion in for our little songbird, my lord?"

"If I knew where the hotel was, I would say yes," he grumbled.  
"It went off my radar just moments ago."

The woman smirked evilly and pulled out a small bag of her own. 

"I think I can remedy that easily," she chuckled as she pulled out a dark teastone.  
"I wish to undo the wish that is keeping this hotel off of the radar."

Instead of a glow and a dissolve, the stone zapped electricity and exploded right in her hand. She took the ashes and brushed them into her bag as Wilmer rushed in.

"Boss! Boss!" he panted panicked.  
"It's Cal. That plant demon murdered him!"

"Calvin?" the woman shrugged as she pulled out another.  
"I wish he was here with us fully healed."

And out of nowhere, Calvin appeared, healed and renewed. It took him a few moments to process what was going on, but when he knew, he smirked.

"What on earth did I do to deserve a healing from you, Miss Divola?" he asked flirtatiously.

"Quite simple," she shrugged.  
"We're taking a little trip to the hotel."

"Hotel? Why are we going to a hotel?"

"To get your fiance and our queen back."

* * *

Meanwhile, Mystic used another teastone to heal herself up. Sneaking past the others, she took the elevator down to the lobby in hopes of getting the noise out of her mind. She stood outside in the cool air for a while, letting the silence fill her mind and calming her. After about ten minutes, she went back inside to----

_**ZAP!** _

A surge of white light filled her vision for a few moments. Automatically she shut them tight. Once it was gone, she opened them to see a green creature, bleeding out, or it seemed that way. It was a familiar one. She saw him at the first invasion, carrying Alice. She saw him infected with the disease. And now she saw him, pushing himself to his feet. 

This was Envy.


	75. Everlock Horror Story, Hotel, Part 8: Pain and Fear

Our eyes met, and I went pale. I was completely tongue-tied as I saw this.....creature in front of me. But luckily, it was one for a brief second.

“YOU-!!” I screamed as I pulled a stone out of my bag.

"I wish this dude was pinned against the wall!"

Gold dust went off in his face. When they faded, I could see his confusion.

“What-?“ he began, but I didn't want to hear it.

“What is it with anyone and everyone trying to attack me and/or invade my space!?" I snapped.  
"Do you guys just **not** understand that I want to be left alone?!”

Either he was a really good actor or he truly didn't know because he looked confused as hell.

“What are you talking about!?” he spattered.

“What do you mean ‘what am I talking about’!?” I glared at him.   
“You’re working with _him_ now! I heard it from **them** -!!”

“No-!“ he panted.

“‘No’?" I scoffed in disbelief.  
"Then why is it pretty much official that you and Calvin are a thing?”

Again, either a really good actor or truly confused as hell.

“What?"

“Whenever anybody asks about you, the answer is always ‘oh he’s off getting intimate with Calvin,' or 'oh he’s off setting up the impending wedding-'"

“Wh-no. **No-!!** ”

“Oh yeah," I chuckled in angered disbelief as I raised an eyebrow.  
"And that’s not even the best part! Does ‘Envy x Calvin’ ring any bells? ‘Cause that’s the new ship that’s been circulating around here, apparently." 

He basically turned into a sprinkler, in that all he could do was sputter.

“That…that is…!!” 

I rolled my eyes. I knew he was just acting.

“Can’t deny it, can you?” I scoffed.   
“Hah, and to think poor Alice actually _believed_ in you!!" 

“Alice?” he gasped as he strained against his invisible binds.  
“Where is she!? Do you know!!??”

“Kinda…something…weird went down, and we got stuck with an imposter for a while”.

“An imposter…”

“Some Creepy nut job who happened to be a Demon from someplace, or so he said, anyway”.

“…Where…where did you see her last?”

I chuckled. Like I was gonna tell this dude that.

“THAT is an absurdly long story," I told him as I reached into the bag.  
“Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to wish you right back to your new boyfriend-“

“NO!!”

I'd be lying if I said that he didn't startle me. Hell, I felt myself jump a few feet in the air. 

“No don’t-“

I huffed, folding my arms. 

“…Why not…?” 

“We aren’t-we never were-and never will be-a Thing! That was all him…”

 _Sure, it was ALL him._

“-And how do I know that I can believe you?”

“…All I have to show for it, is my word”. 

Either he was really that desperate or that good of an actor again, but I was losing patience. That "just-take-my-word-for-it" bull wasn't gonna cut it anymore. 

“Your word means shit to me," I spat as my fingers closed around the teastone.  
“I wish-“

“WAIT!!”

“-That-“

“STOP, please-“

“-You would go back to where you-!!”

_“-If you don’t believe me, then use it on my memories!!”_

I yelped, dropping the stone to the ground as his voice echoed in my head. 

“Excuse me, sir, WHAT?"

I saw his jaw tense up as I reached back down for the stone, snatching it up.

“L…look at my memories”.

This plant dude was probably the biggest lunatic I've ever met.

“Uh…WHY!?”

“Because I don’t know how else to tell you that I’m on your side!!” 

I gave this some thought as I rubbed my thumb along the surface of the teastone, hoping the stimming might help me think. Should I really trust this guy? I mean, yeah, a lot of what I know about him is only hearsay, but I wasn't sure if I was willing to take that risk. Then again, I saw his eyes, they were leaking desperation.

No, wait, actually I think it was chlorophyll. 

I sighed.

“How would that help?”

He sighed in response. 

“You would see…everything…from how I got here to where I am right now...If this isn’t good enough…"

I could see that there was a tipping point and this dude was [close](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16768489/chapters/43616897#) to cracking. 

“I don’t know what else-I don’t know what else to do. I’m sorry…"

He trailed off and looked at me, pleading. With another huff, I pursed my lips.

"If you're seriously that desperate," I sighed.  
"I'll give you one [chance](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16768489/chapters/43616897#) to convince me. Hit me."

All of a sudden, I was punched in the brain with a wave of memories from his point-of-view. Vampire plants, a doctor dead in the 1920s moments after Calvin had met him. The scariest was this memory of a doll room where Calvin was grinning devilishly. I could feel myself verging on a scream.

"Stop it," I winced in [pain](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16768489/chapters/43616897#) as I dropped to my knees

But he didn't stop. He kept replaying it in my mind, this dude was either super desperate or super sadistic.

"STOP IT!" I shrieked so loud the whole [hotel](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16768489/chapters/43616897#) shook slightly, tears streaming down my face.  
"STOP IT RIGHT NOW OR I'M SENDING YOU BACK!"

Finally he released me from this agony. I gasped for breath. 

I......I had no clue what to say. What I just saw, the pain I just felt, the fear I just experienced. Was all of that......really what happened?

"What.....the hell.....was that?" I demanded with a quiet tremble.

"That's........what I went through."

I took a moment to recollect myself before I stood up.

"How can I be sure these are real?" I asked.

"Would I really put myself through this much pain?"

"Well, you just did it to me."

"Touche, but no. I can assure you. These ARE real."

I sighed, trying to think of a way I could get some info AND be sure he was our ally.

"I'm still unsure, but I've got another way to prove that you're on our side."

"Yes, what is it, my love----I mean, Mystic?"

I blushed slightly in shock and I could tell he was shocked as well.

"Um, can we just pretend I didn't say those two words?"

I nodded quickly.

"To prove that you're on our side, tell me the name of the traitor that the Cursed God sent out."

I saw his face go white.

"The...the what?"

"Don't play dumb," I scoffed.  
"I know you know who it is."

"How?"

"Intuition."

He sighed reluctantly.

"Fine. I did overhear their name, but I feel so bad because they seem so nice---"

"Doesn't matter. If the Cursed God sent them, they're bad news. Now who is the traitor?"

Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath.

"Okay, the traitor amongst you is----"

"Going to remain anonymous," a voice chuckled.

Whirling around I saw a psychotic looking, yet well-dressed and kinda handsome young man, and a Penelope Dowry lookalike with red hair, smiling devilishly.


	76. Everlock Horror Story, Hotel, Part 9: Taking a Treasure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> IT'S SNOWING HERE. >:(
> 
> Also on the brighter side, Alice posted the shit about Envy and I getting transported to the realm of the Cursed God while I was kinda pre-occupied. But I read it and I definitely think it'll help us get a little back on track if we have a few of those moments.

"Hello, my love," Calvin purred as he strode up to us both and caressed our cheeks. I slapped him away, but that plant guy.......thanks to what I did, he had no chance to.

"As I was saying," the red-haired Penelope continued with just as much articulation, but much more malice, in her voice.  
"That 'traitor' shall remain anonymous. At least until after the wedding."

She then strode up to me and grabbed my head to face her. She took a long time, and I wasn't entirely sure what she was doing. I guess inspecting me?

"Hmm, yes, now I remember. I can see why he's so obsessed with you."

"What are you doing with her?" Envy demanded.

"It's been about 40 years since I last saw her face," she told him matter-of-factly.  
"And now the first time I'm seeing her face-to-face. I'd nearly forgotten why my lord wants her so badly."

"Wait," I coughed as I pushed her away and brushed my face.  
"Who the hell are you? And what do you mean 40 years? I'm only 20."

She stared at me looking rather offended.

"You didn't infer from the diary entry?"

It took me a moment to remember.

"You're the 'she' Calliope was talking about!"

She chortled.

"Well, aren't you just a smart little girl," she cooed condescendingly.  
"You should show that intelligence off to your new husband."

"I don't think so," I growled as I back away.

I tried to intimidate her; keyword: tried. She practically roared with laughter.

"What are you going to do? You're practically helpless on your own."

She reached into her pocket and pulled out a dark pocket watch. Smoke was emitting from it and my heart began to palpitate. Quietly, I pulled out a teastone from behind my back.

"I wish that Envy was set free."

Gold glowed behind me and the plant person stumbled as he was released. The red-haired woman swung the pocket watch towards me, sending the smoke in my direction. I grabbed what I guess was a stub where Envy's hand should be and rushed him to the elevator. The two of them were on our heels, but the doors shut before they could get at us. 

"Hold on tight," I warned him.

I rammed a button for emergency floor recall and pressed the top button before grabbing a nearby railing. Immediately the elevator began to skyrocket up to the top floor. I tried to catch my breath, thinking we were safe for now, but just as the doors ripped open, black smoke appeared behind us and grabbed me by my waist.

"HELP!" I shrieked bloody murder as Envy dashed out of the elevator. I kicked against the woman holding me as Nikita and several others rushed from the room. 

The others tried to grab me and pull me back, but the woman began to pull out a stone when Ro reached under my skirt and gave me one of my own.

"I wish I was back inside my room at this hotel!" I practically screamed. 

The elevator disappeared in a golden haze as I found myself back in my room, but unfortunately, I was no alone. I heard the doors shut and lock behind me.

"Why hello again," Calvin's voice purred in my ear like an ASMRtist, sending shivers down my spine, as he pinned my hands behind my back.  
"Aren't you a sweet, little thing."

All of a sudden, he whirled me around to face him, smiling ~~lovingly~~ psychotically.

"If my master weren't so set on making you his queen, you'd be such a lovely edition to my collection. You'd need some fixing up with those legs, upper arms, and overall body fat, but you'd be the pinnacle of my collection even without most of those being fixed. Because you'd radiate such sweet innocence and femininity with the features you do have."

He held up my arm and ran a finger up it, causing me to tremble.

_I don't like this. Nope. Not at all._

"Such soft skin."

Then he slowly pet my respective hand.

"Those fingers. Such a work of art."

_One that you should NOT be touching._

As he spoke, he took two of his own fingers, placed them in between mine, and slowly moved them upward. I tried to suppress my tears. Then he forced my face upward and our eyes met. 

"Those beautiful blue-grey eyes, like a doe's, an innocent young fawn's."

_I'm gonna need you to stop._

Next he took ahold of my hair.

"And your lovely locks. They shine under the light."

_Trying to cover all the bases, are we?_

After that he took a finger and slowly traced around my lips.

"And those perfect cupid's bow lips."

_Get the hell away from my lips._

And then he did something even stranger; he took a finger and caressed down the middle of my neck. 

"And I've heard you sing before. Perhaps if I can keep you sentient, yet still like a doll, you would grace the doll room with your angelic voice."

_DUDE, HAVE YOU NEVER HEARD OF CONSENT BEFORE?????_

I tried to take a step back, but he had me tightly.

"I wouldn't try to run away. Lilith's dealing with those outside. Once they're all subdued, we'll take you all to the palace and have the ceremony. At least once I finish setting up the topiaries and flowers."

I tried to speak, but he placed a finger on my lips. 

"Save that pretty little voice of yours, sweet songbird," he whispered.  
"My master would rather be the first to hear you sing face to face."

_I was actually gonna use it to scream "FUCKING HELP ME. THIS DUDE IS A PSYCHO!"_

Not moments later, Lilith came in dragging Envy. 

"Well, well, well," she cooed as she stepped forward towards us, me in particular, stretching out her hand to pet my head.  
“It seems we caught you both at a rather opportune moment. Mystic…you shouldn’t have left the safety of your friends. We all know you're just an innocent little child."

I gritted my teeth.

“Back off!"

I shuffled through the bag and pulled out a stone. 

“I wish that you two would-“ I began quickly.

“I wish that your bag of teastones," she interrupted calmly.  
"Would be erased from this plane of existence."

A sudden crackling of electricity, causing me to gasp as the bag disappeared.

Countless numbers of the teastones plummeted to the floor, and shattered upon impact. The golden glow then ran inside of me and I fell backwards. I was shocked, rattled to my core.

“You-!! How did you-!?”

“Oh, my dear…” the woman chuckled softly as she leaned down to pet me again.  
“Have you never heard of Dark Teastones?”

“What?” I exclaimed confused.

“…Never you mind."

She plucked another one out of thin air and I began to panic. I tried to run, screaming out bloody murder for help, so loudly that it shook the hotel slightly.

"RO! MATT! SAFIYA! PENELOPE! HEL---!"

The woman whipped her arm around, holding me close to her as she covered my mouth. I tried to bite down, but the gloves were too sturdy.

"Aww," she cooed condescendingly.  
"My lord was right. You ARE adorable. You really think they'll be able to take you back? Not this time, my pet. Not this time."

If looks could kill, that bitch would be dead.

“Anyhow, once you are back with your future husband and he-"

A nod at Envy-

"Is reunited with _his_ , then all of your confusion shall be addressed”.

“Future husband-“ I wondered, my voice muffled through her gloves.

It took me a few minutes, but soon the dots began to line up. 

“No!“ we both shouted as the woman used her other hand to hold up the dark stone.

“Yes," she chuckled just as the bedroom door reopened.  
"I wish Mystic and Envy would be transported back with Calvin and I to the lair of the Cursed God."

"Mystic!" Ro, Matt, and Safiya's voices yelled as the hotel began to fade away.


	77. Queen of Eternity, Part 1: The Sewers.

I awoke with a start, finding myself on a cobblestone floor.

A cold cobblestone floor.

A DARK AND COLD cobblestone floor.

I felt something light and flowy on my body. Looking down I stared at the white gown (of course it's white. IT'S ALWAYS WHITE.) that was now on me. Whirling around, I noticed that Plant Boi was still passed out. I grabbed his arms and started shaking him.

“-hey! HEY!! Envy, snap out of it-“

“There you are, at last," a voice gasped ~~lovingly~~ obsessively.

I didn't WANT to turn around. I didn't WANT to see who was behind me. I KNEW who was behind me, and I didn't WANT to acknowledge who it was, but I had to. So I turned around, and there he was, Mr. Stalkerman himself; the Cursed God.

“I've been waiting for ages for your return. Your absence itself was torturous, agonizingly so, my innocent flower."

He reached out a hand to stroke my cheek in affection, and I flinched twice. Once when he caressed my cheek. The second when he grabbed my hands.

“But now that you have found your way to me once more, this time, I **swear** that we will never ever be parted."

I felt like I was gonna be sick.

“-And the same goes for us as well…”

That silky soft voice nearby Envy, the one who had been harassing me in my hotel bedroom. It seemed to set him off somehow. He lunged at Calvin and I winced as I heard a neck snap. I screamed as Calvin dropped to the ground.

"Holy shit!" I exclaimed in fright.

"Uh, uh, uh," the Cursed God scolded petting my head slowly.  
"Such a sweet and innocent bride never uses such vulgar language. But don't worry. I have ways of making sure you forget them forever."

I began to tremble. The red-headed woman leaned into Envy, looking incredibly disappointed as she pulled out another stone.

“I wish Calvin was alive and well…for the umpteenth time in the span of ten minutes," she huffed  
“…You absolutely _despise_ him, don’t you?”

Before Envy could respond, electricity surged, the stone disintegrated-

And Calvin's neck re-aligned itself with a loud **snap,** causing me to cringe at the mere sound.

“…Miss Divola, thank you very much for the assistance," he replied before indicating to Envy.  
“That one is a regular wildcat, but I should be able to have him tamed soon.

She raised an eyebrow incredulously.

"I wish you the best of luck," she scoffed.

The Cursed God, too, seemed a bit skeptical. And even I was skeptical. Envy seemed to be hiding some of his strength, at least that was the impression I was getting. But he looked pretty happy with himself, so I wasn't about to ruin this for him. But there was another emotion apparent; fear. Pure, unaltered fear. 

“…Mystic, my dearest," the Cursed God purred as he stroked my hands.  
"Perhaps you and I should retreat to another room."

“No!”

It was practically a scream. All of a sudden, he yanked my arm nearly out of the socket and held me close, his scream dissolving into a fearful whimper.

“Don’t…please…Please don’t leave me."

This guy......this was the guy who probably five or ten minutes ago, I thought was on their side. Who I thought was a ruthless killer or at the very least a spy for them. Now he was cowering in fear like a little kid lost in a mall. 

"Let him go," I declared.  
"You can take me. I'll marry you. Whatever. But over my dead body is this guy gonna suffer because of the choices I made."

They stared at me, almost blankly, for a few moments.

"So," Calvin seethed.  
"You want to ruin my happiness, is that what you're saying?"

"Yes," I asserted as I stood up, facing him.   
"Because your own happiness, if that's what you're calling it, shouldn't cause others to experience trauma!"

"He's fine with it."

"Is that so? Did you ever ask him?"

"No, I simply know."

I glanced to Envy in the hopes that he'd back me up, but he looked scared speechless. 

"That's not the vibe I got when he snapped your neck."

"He merely has..........exotic interests."

"No, he's terrified of you! And quite frankly, so am I. No sane person would kill someone and turn them into a doll for their own twisted pleasure."

"I am a perfectionist," he clipped.  
"Of the highest degree."

"You're demented! Those 'dolls' were once real people." 

"Perfectionism often demands sacrifice."

At this point, I was tired of this bullshit. Shaking my head, I turned on my heels and snatched up Envy, pulling him as I ran.

"Get back here. **We're** not finished yet!" the woman snapped.

"Well, both of **us** are!" I yelled as we turned a corner. 

I could hear their footsteps advancing on us, but I still kept on running as Envy tried to keep up with my pulling. After a few more turns. 

"C'mon, pick up your feet," I told him. 

"Stop for a second then."

"I can't. If we stop for even a single second, it could be the end of us. Where the hell even are we?"

I came face-to-face with a wall and took a left. I kept having to go through twists and turns until I realized where we were.

"I don't care if you're there for weeks!" I heard the Cursed God roar in fury.  
"Search the entire labyrinth, and don't come back without my bride!"

I skidded to a halt as I found myself at a four-way intersection. 

"Damn it," I whispered irritatedly.  
"Where do we go now?" 

"You're the hero of this," Envy snipped back.  
"You make the choice."

"That's what I've been trying to do this whole damn time, but everyone keeps trying to make decisions for me!"

"What the hell do you mean?"

"Try being autistic," I growled.  
"I'm almost twenty-fucking-one years old and----"

The footsteps were becoming louder.

"Shit," I spat as I veered to the left.

"And what?" Envy wondered impatiently as I kept following my gut, taking the first turn my instincts told me to take.

"And people still see me as incapable compared to others."

"It can't be that bad."

"I swear that if we weren't on the run, I'd strangle you with your own vines. It IS that fucking bad. I got out of extended guardianship **just less than a year ago**."

"But aren't you supposed to be considered independent at 18?"

"You see now?"

He was silent for a few moments, presumably due to sheepishness.

"How bad was the guardianship?"

"Admittedly, it could've been worse," I panted.  
"But it made going to the campus clinic a pain in the ass. I'll explain later. Right now, how do we get out of here?"

My legs were beginning to throb, but my fight-or-flight instincts were still in full gear, as Envy shook his head.

"I.....I don't know. I've never been in this place."

All of a sudden, I saw a handle on the floor. Immediately I dropped to the ground and pulled at it. It was stuck shut tight. 

"Damn it!" I grumbled as Envy began to panic.

"Hurry, they're getting closer!"

"I'm trying!"

Finally, I pulled it open and dropped down where I was greeted with a fizzling sound and a rush of pain. Immediately I grabbed onto a bar on the ceiling and tried to pull myself up as I looked down. Below me was a steaming, sizzling, rancid, neon green substance that made my eyes water. Envy, meanwhile, had dropped down was using some mint-green gel on the sides of the trap door.

"Grab on!" I told Envy, my feet still throbbing from being nearly dissolved to nothing.  
"The floor's covered with some sort of acid. What's that?"

"Dew Glue," he explained as he placed his feet on the ladder.  
"This should keep the door shut for a while."

"Wait. How are you hanging on?"

"Dew Glue. Now go!"

I struggled for a bit to get myself to orient to this strange arrangement.

_Stay calm, Mystic. It's just like climbing a ladder, but horizontally._

I found myself going rather slow at first, nearly slipping several times. But after a while I managed to get the hang of it. And just in time too, as I heard the door being pulled at above us, as well as Calvin and the lady talking.

_"There's no way they could be down there, right?" the lady panicked._

_"If it does end up being case, we need to get them out of there," Calvin answered.  
"The vault is down there. And if Mystic is as intelligent as I've heard, she'll be able to crack it wide open."_

_"Well, keep pulling then."_

The vault? Determined I kept moving.

_"Can't you just use those stones to get them out?"_

_"You idiot! You know the ashes would dissolve if we use them on anything or anyone in the sewers. We need to keep the ashes to feed to Mystic. That's what the Cursed God said."_

_"What's he ever done for us? If I had it my way, Mystic would be nothing more than a doll in my collection. A special one, but a doll nonetheless. And if Envy'd stayed with me, I could've instead triggered that gene and all of Mystic's friends would've been slaughtered in a matter of minutes."_

A moment of silence.

_"You are incredibly morbid."_

_"You're trying to feed this girl ashes, Lilith, and yet I'M the morbid one."_

_"And the lazy one! KEEP PULLING, YOU BASTARD!"_

I scrambled along the sewers, trying not to black out from the sensory hell that was the acidic sewage. My arms began to ache and so did my back. I could feel myself about to give out, but then I'd hear a fizzle as a bead of sweat dropped into the sewage and I'd have to keep moving. However, the sweat was also accumulating in my hands, making it difficult to get a grip. One at a time, I wiped my hands on my dress and grabbed the next rung. 

"How long is this?" I huffed. 

"Your guess is as good as mine," he shrugged. 

"At this point, I'm just willing to fall into the acid," I admitted angrily.  
"What can they do? They can't use any wishes on me or anything in the sewers."

"Wait," Envy exclaimed.   
"There's a landing just up ahead."

Hearing this I scurried over, and sure enough, I saw a safe place to drop. I fell to my feet, with one of the shoes and the outer layer of skin on my foot either being dissolved or dead. I winced as I landed on it, tears coming to my eyes. I felt hopeless when suddenly out of the corner of my eye, I saw a ladder, a normal one. Grabbing Envy, I scurried up and pushed open the golden grate, feeling relieved, but that relief was short-lived when I saw where I was and who I was with.

"Hello, hello, hello," the Cursed God purred, smirking triumphantly.


	78. Queen of Eternity, Part 2: Borrowed Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well, someone might die.

"Well, well, well," he chuckled as we emerged.  
"It's as I've said. True loves always find their way to each other."

As quick as I could, I tried to get back down, but a cloak of darkness surrounded it. Switching to Plan B, I limped over to the throne room doors, flinging them open, only to find all of his hench-people/creatures, including Lilith and Calvin. 

_Shit._

Envy and I were surrounded with no teastones, none of the others, nothing. But I was still not prepared to give up. I whirled around to face the Cursed God.

"I......will never....love you," I hissed infuriated while struggling through the pain in my foot.

"That will change," he told me matter-of-factly before noticing my pain. 

Using his magic, he brought me to his side and saw my foot. And the second he laid eyes on it, I saw fear and anger in his face. 

"Who did this to you, my darling?" he growled.

Immediately he whirled on Lilith and Calvin.

"You two let her go into the acid tunnel?!" he roared with fire. 

"That plant creature sealed the door leading to it," Lilith explained matter-of-factly. 

Now he turned on Envy. 

"If you weren't so useful to us," he fumed.  
"I would've had you turned into mulch for this!"

"It's NOT his fault," I piped up.

He whirled on me and his expression softened as he pet my head gently, sending a tingle down my body.

"Sweetheart, you simply don't know what you're saying," he purred condescendingly as I cringed.  
"My poor, innocent, little lamb. That acidic sewage must've corrupted your brain. That, and the acid tunnels."

I looked to Envy as if to further my point of how people always seem to underestimate me. 

"Then what the hell's the other 'acidic sewage'?" I ventured to ask.

"Those people you call your friends. Well, except for sweet Rosanna. I'd be more than happy to let her stay with you if it will make you happy."

Before I could respond, he snapped his fingers and the cute little muffin appeared before us. 

"What.....what's going on?" she asked confused.

"Ro!" I practically cried as I leapt off of the throne and tried to run to her.

I still felt the burn of my foot, though. With a yelp of pain, I fell to the floor. Both Ro and the Cursed God rushed to my aid.

"What happened?" Ro gasped as she saw my foot.

"She's had her outer layer of skin eaten away by the acid tunnels," the Cursed God explained.  
"And her brain by the acidic sewage she calls her friends."

"Leave them alone!" Ro ordered firmly.

"But not you," he added softening his tone as he reached out to pet her.  
"You're a gentle, innocent soul. I trust you'll keep her safe and pure."

"Don't touch her," I snapped quickly and loudly, causing him to jerk his hand back.  
"She's not marrying you, so she shouldn't have to suffer the same fate."

"And our friends are NOT acidic sewage!" Ro retorted gently.

"For now they are," the Cursed God chuckled as he ushered us back to the throne.  
"But once we capture them, we'll turn them into concubines, slaves, soldiers, servants, everything a queen of eternity deserves and more."

"Are you sure you trust this girl?" Lilith doubted.  
"Looks can be deceiving."

"I do," he snapped without hesitation, causing Lilith to shrink back into the crowd.   
"She is the purest amongst them. Why, if I hadn't discovered sweet Mystic, she might have been my bride instead."

I shivered at the mere thought. Ro having to suffer the same fate as I was having to go through now? I feel like that'd be even worse.

"My lord," Nicholas coughed.  
"Now that we have Mystic, you kinda promised me a bride of my own."

"Of course, of course," the Cursed God assured him with a chuckle.   
"I haven't forgotten. But first we need to purify my love even further. I believe an angel bath will do the trick."

"Oh hell no," I shook my head as I yeeted myself off of the throne.   
"I'm not going through some sort of purification ritual. Nope. No thanks. Goodbye."

Once again I tried to move, but the pain still surged through my foot. 

"The angel bath will also heal your foot in no time at all."

He then pointed at Envy. 

"And give this one a bath laced with chlorophyll. We need a strong and healthy topiary and soldier."

"I'll give him the bath," Calvin purred.

"Absolutely not," I asserted.  
"If I HAVE to get this angel bath or whatever, Envy's NOT getting a bath from Dr. Drevis here!"

I could tell on pretty much everyone's faces that they had no idea what I was talking about; if only Laurenzside or Pewdiepie or Markiplier were there. They'd know. 

"Fine," Lilith sighed, with a little hint of a smirk.  
"I'll make sure he doesn't if you let ME bathe you."

I blinked in confusion and she giggled.

"I know the proper way to give the angel bath. You'll reap the most benefits from me doing it."

I had a strong feeling that I wasn't gonna get out of this angel bath regardless of who was bathing who, but I wasn't about to let Envy get turned into a doll quite yet, if at all.

"Sure," I sighed reluctantly.  
"You can give me the angel bath."

Lilith then turned to Ro.

"Would you be willing to give this one his chlorophyll bath?"

"I'm afraid I don't know how," Ro answered politely.

"There's an instruction manual. If you would follow me, I'll show you where the baths are."

Ro, gently, took ahold of Envy, and Lilith grabbed me by the shoulders, but I was still stumbling. Belle, noticing this, came rushing out of the crowd and helped support my other side as Sandra and Debra followed.

"Thank you," I whispered to Belle as we were led away from the throne room.

* * *

Meanwhile, Penelope awoke from a slumber on the floor with a start to find Matt and Safiya staring down at her, a panicked expression on their faces.

"What.....what is it?"

She whirled around.

"Where is Mystic?"

"Calvin and this red-haired version of you came and took her and Envy."

Hearing the phrase "red-haired version of you," Penelope stood up and fury filled her eyes.

"So old foe, we cross paths again," she fumed. 

Immediately she went into leader mode, waking up the writers.

"Get up!" she barked.  
"We have a mission to fulfill."

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Alice carrying a bowl of something. Discreetly she decided to follow her. 

"Get them ready," she ordered Matt and Safiya.  
"I have some business to attend to."

She followed her down to the third floor where she entered room 6. 

_Candy Pop's room....._

She peeked through to find her pouring something down his throat.

"What in the name of sanity are you doing?" she clipped.

Alice jumped and let go of the bowl. It fell and shattered against the floor. 

"I.....I got the wishblossom. Gave it to him.....Penelope, I think he's dying! But this is gonna save him, right?"

"Was it the regular wishblossom?"

Confusion crossed Alice's face as she nodded. Seeing this Penelope pursed her lips.

"It's gonna save him, right?" she practically screamed.

Penelope turned away and bowed her head.

"Alice, I'm so sorry to be the bearer of tragedy......but.....but....."

"But what?!"

She sighed.

"Well, you see, there's something I never told you about the teastones; there is such a thing as dark teastones, ones that were normal originally, but then corrupted by the Cursed God, therefore there is such a thing as a dark wish blossom. Do you know the difference?"

Alice shook her head.

"The teastones I showed you...they're comprised of light," her voice began to quiver.  
"Only beings of the light realm or of the earthly realm can safely use them. By contrast, the dark teastones can only be safely used by beings of a darker nature, being such as........a demon."

She gestured to Candy Pop, and Alice's face pallored.

"So then.....what happens if......?" Alice began nervously.

Penelope took a deep breath.

"Well.....if someone of the dark realm......ingested something......comprised of light.......they would......"

She trailed off, unable to get herself to finish the sentence.

"They would what?"

There was no answer, but there was no need for one to begin with. Alice began to panic.

"No...." she giggled fearfully, shaking her head.  
"No, it's not gonna......you're not saying he will......."

Penelope attempted to remain stoic, but Alice's tone was becoming more and more desperate and it was painful to hear. She flinched slightly as Alice whirled her around and shook her.

"Penelope, answer me! Please!" she demanded tearfully.  
"There's gotta be a way we can save him."

Finally she responded with a deep breath.

"There......is......." she responded slowly.  
"To counteract the effects of using a normal teastone, you would need to use two dark teastones. So that would mean.......we need two dark wishblossoms."

"Then let's get them. I can use my memory magic---"

"No," Penelope clipped.  
"Memory magic is limited. You have never seen a dark teastone, let alone a dark wishblossom. I'm sorry, but the only way to get it is........is......"

Alice gestured as if to say "go on."

"To go to the source of the one who mutated them; we have to go to the lair of the Cursed God."


	79. Queen of Eternity, Part 3: Attempted Rejuvenation

After a fairly long stint of walking, and eventually using a dark teastone to take us there, we were at the baths.

"Why are you helping me?" I whispered to Belle.  
"I thought you and your sisters despised innocent people."

"We do," Sandra scoffed.  
"But it'll be fun to see if we can corrupt you after this."

"It'll certainly be a good challenge," Debra added.  
"These baths are pretty effective."

Belle leaned in and whispered.

"I actually don't mind innocent girls. I think they're kinda cute."

"You like cute things?"

"It's a guilty pleasure of mine," she giggled like a schoolgirl.  
"After this you and I should cuddle and watch some Disney."

"Hey, Karen Smith," Sandra tapped her on the shoulder.  
"We can hear you, you know? And we know about how you like innocent girls."

"And you don't hate me for it?"

"We don't hate you," Debra sighed.  
"We just don't support it."

"Alright, enough," Lilith giggled gently.   
"Ro, sweetheart, the chlorophyll bath is on the left side of the screen door."

I looked over at it; it was a rather thin screen door, patterned with textured glass so that we wouldn't be able to see each other very well, but I felt like we'd be able to hear each other.

"You promise Mystic will be safe?"

"You have my word."

"Good," she answered nodding vigorously.  
"Because if I hear that you're giving her any trouble, I'm gonna make you pay."

I knew she was trying to sound threatening, but she said it so adorably that I couldn't help but smile. Lilith and the witches could barely hold back giggles as she escorted Envy to the left. Once she was on the other side, Lilith slid the door closed and began to draw the bath. She was mixing in a bunch of things that I couldn't really recognize, but I did hear "unicorn's blood" and I started to tear up.

"Don't worry, pet," Lilith consoled me patronizingly.  
"I'll tell your husband-to-be to get you a unicorn."

On the other side of the screen, I could hear Ro and Envy talking a bit as Ro tried to figure this out.

"'Fill to halfway with lukewarm water,'" she read slowly.  
"'Then mix with....'uh....Oh geez. I wish I had my reading glasses."

Sandra began to chuckle at this and I snapped.

"Shut up," I clipped defensively.  
"She's dyslexic. Cut her some slack."

Somehow that got her to stop.

"I could try to figure it out," Envy offered.

"If you want to."

"I mean, better you giving me a bath than Dr. Calvinstein."

She giggled cutely at this and I pursed my lips. Ro needed to share her adorableness.

Once she was done, Lilith turned towards me.

"Alright, sweetheart. You'll need to remove your clothing now."

I felt my stomach jump and my cheeks burn red, causing the witches to giggle, two teasingly and one endearingly.

"Shy, aren't we?" Lilith giggled.

All of a sudden, we heard shouts and screams below us.

"What the hell was that?" I wondered, trying to see what was going on. 

Lilith grabbed me by the wrist.

"That's none of your concern, dearie. Your bath is waiting."

My cheeks were still burning red and Lilith sighed.

"How about we start with just your foot?"

I nodded and she helped support me. My foot was hanging just over the water when---

"Mystic, don't do it!"


	80. Queen of Eternity, Part 4: Red Cold

I whirled around as Penelope and a few of the others rushed in. 

"Mystic, don't get in that bath!" she ordered me.

Jumping from Lilith's grasp, I launched myself into Penelope's, trying not to wince in pain from my foot. Ro slid open the screen door as Envy came rushing out.

"Matt!" she cried in relief as they rushed towards each other, embracing one another, Safiya then jumping in as well.

Meanwhile Penelope had the glare at Lilith set to imminent demise, if only it could.

"Hand over the dark ashes," she growled.  
"Death is looming over the hotel."

Lilith merely chuckled.

"You can't save Candy Pop," she smirked as she pulled out her bag of dark teastones.

"Wait," Alice exclaimed.  
"How did you---?"

"Our little traitor informed me."

"Who is this god-forsaken traitor anyway?" Bird squawked.  
"It's been nearly sixty chapters since that became a plot point!"

"Where are these drugs you're getting?" Dooper yelled.  
"I want twenty."

Lilith reached out for me, but Penelope swooped me behind her, not realizing the witches were there. Before I knew it, Belle had me in an arm lock. From out of nowhere, it seemed, Penelope pulled out a teastone.

"I wish Lilith's dark teastones turned to ash."

A golden glow emerged, Lilith's arm drooped slightly indicating an increase in weight and a zap of electricity jolted her. This only made her cackle.

"Penelope, you are as naive as ever! You don't realize how much you helped us. The dark energy in those teastones is going to infect anyone it can. And I've had plenty of them saved up."

As she was speaking this, Penelope pulled out another teastone.

"I wish that the three witches were teleported far away from here."

I felt Belle's grip on me disappear as Lilith scowled at her opponent.

"We don't have time for this," Penelope informed her angrily as she pulled out a third teastone.  
"We WILL save Candy Pop. I wish that we had that bag of ash and immunity to the dark energy infection."

I felt a sort-of invisible protective layer form around me as the bag of ash slid into Penelope's hands.

"Enough games," Lilith hissed, pulling out her dark pocket watch.  
"It's time for you all to bow to the darkness."

"Everyone, run," Penelope ordered us. 

Matt, Safiya, and Ro, noticing I was struggling, grabbed for me. Penelope followed behind calling out wish after wish in defense. All the while, I felt something surge through me. My veins began to glow gold.

"What the hell's going on?" I panicked.  
"Am I dying?"

"I certainly hope not," Andrea R. gasped. 

I felt a warmth surge through my hands eradicating any pain. While I was being supported, I tried to focus on my foot. Sure enough, the golden glow sent itself down to my foot and healed it up. 

"What the----? How did I---?" I blabbered stunned. 

"I don't know," Penelope shrugged. 

All of a sudden, a dark cloud swirled around us, blinding us.

"What's going on?" Alice exclaimed.  
"I can't see anything!"

"Neither can I," Blueberry agreed.

"Something's happening," Matt panicked.  
"And it can't be good.

It was at that moment, I felt a sudden hand grasp my wrist. Looking up, I met Lilith's sinister eyes and prepared to scream, but before I could even open my mouth, a flash of red hit me and I was out.


	81. Queen of Eternity, Part 5: Is It Too Late?

As soon as the cloud of smoke faded away, everyone tried to reorient themselves, but Leah let out a scream causing them to stumble briefly.. Whirling around, horror and dread filled them as they all saw the Cursed God by the angel bath, carrying an unconscious Mystic bridal-style with Lilith at his side. They tried to charge at him, but found themselves thrown back by a jolt of electricity.

"You fools," the Cursed God chuckled. 

Snapping his fingers, Leah, Safiya, and Ro were also instantly teleported to the other side of the forcefield, with the first two by Nicholas's side. 

"Did you not think I would be prepared for this? I've had over 40 years to plan everything for my love."

Penelope pulled out another teastone.

"And don't even think about using your pathetic little stones. They don't work on those beyond the barrier."

Turning around he slowly lowered Mystic into the waters of the angel bath, much to Penelope's horror. 

_Okay, settle Penelope,_ she told herself.  
 _An angel bath isn't irreversible. You know that. And yet......_

If they couldn't affect those inside the forcefield, the forcefield itself would have to do. Discreetly she pulled out a stone and whispered.

"I wish the barrier between us and the Cursed God was broken."

There was a zap of electricity in between the two groups as the others charged at Mystic. Alice reached for her when she noticed Lilith wasn't trying to stop her. Neither was the Cursed God.

"Um, are you two still sentient?" she wondered.

"Oh yes, we are," Lilith giggled.  
"It's just......well, I suppose you don't want your precious Mystic to die, do you?"

"Die?" Ro exclaimed.

"Once someone is in an angel bath, they have to be tended to for at least an hour or they'll die. You see, an angel bath is quite literally taking the mind, heart, and soul of another from the vessel and purifying it within the waters. If the process is interrupted, the one being purified will die."

Hearing this, Alice backed down as the Cursed God sighed lovingly down at the tub.

"Soon, my love," he smiled fondly.  
"We'll be forever together."

Hearing this a shiver ran down everyone's spines. They tried to run away, but found that the other monsters, including the witches had returned and now they were surrounded. 

"Take them to the magic-proof dungeon," the Cursed God ordered.  
"Once the process is completed, I'll assign them to their new positions."

Trying to fight against them, the others found themselves being injected with syringes knocking them unconscious.

"You don't understand!" Alice cried as she struggled against Benjamin.  
"Candy Pop's dying. We need to get back and save him!"

"Oh? Is that so?" Calvin chuckled as he grabbed ahold of Envy.  
"Oh well."

And they were carried off.


	82. Queen of Eternity, Part 6: Total Rejuvenation

Rosanna trembled as she saw her friends being carried away by the various monsters. She tried to run after them, but the Cursed God grabbed ahold of her, bringing her in close.

"You know," he purred.  
"It certainly would be such a tragedy if she were to die in this, but if she does and I cannot bring her back to life, then you'll become my bride."

The little brunette began to shiver as the Cursed God ran a gentle finger over her face.

"Leave her alone!" Nora snapped.

"Enough of this," Safiya agreed solemnly.  
"You have Mystic. What more could you possibly want?"

"I don't have her yet," he corrected her.  
"Once she is purified, then I shall have her. But should she die, the spirit of Lydia Waverly shall pass on to the next innocent vessel, and it would so happen we have one here."

Rosanna tried to back up, but the Cursed God maintained a grip on her.

"We're gonna be here for a while, aren't we?" Nora sighed.

"Most definitely," Safiya responded.

* * *

I awoke with a start, gasping for breath, to find myself in a cool misty-white wonderland. And for a brief moment, I felt a sense of relief. I'd just lost consciousness, right?

Something deep down within me, though, told me that there was more to this than what met my eye. If only I had learned how an angel bath was supposed to work Before I lost consciousness, Then perhaps I would know whether I should be afraid or not. 

Helping myself to my feet I took a look around to find that it was **completely** misty white. It seemed that there was not a single person or building within miles. And yet far in the distance I heard voices, Specifically The laughter of a young girl. 

"Hello? Who's there?" I called out, my voice echoing against nothingness  
"Come on! Show yourselves."

I attempted to remain strong, But the presence of nothingness, it overtook me with a complete and total fear that I could not explain. All the while the little girl's laughter haunted me as it echoed from within the distance.

"Enough of this!" I cried fearfully.  
"Please, show yourselves!"

As if to answer my desperate cry, the sound of skipping footsteps entered my ears. They became louder as I saw a silhouette Running towards me. I could just make her out once she was only about twenty feet in front of me. She looks quite charming with blond ringlets and a bow in her hair. Upon her person she donned a white gown and her feet carried white ballet shoes. 

_Like out of a fairytale or a Tchaikovsky ballet,_ I remarked to myself. 

"Welcome, Mystic," she replied in an ethereal and sweet voice, one of a child's.  
"I'm Amelie. We've been waiting for your arrival."

I was quite taken aback.

"M-me?" I stammered.

She nodded and took ahold of my wrist.

"Come and follow me, your majesty," she said ecstatically.  
"Everyone's so excited to see you!"

"Wait. What?"

She didn't answer, simply pulling me along, skipping and laughing excitedly. About five minutes later, we arrived at a large white castle where hundreds of.....elves? gnomes? fairies? were chattering and laughing.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" Amelie announced.  
"The princess has arrived!"

Whirling around, they squealed excitedly as they rushed to my side. They were like little cartoon children, clamoring and tugging for my attention. 

"She's beautiful," one of them gasped.

"She's enchanting!" remarked another.

"She wooks just wike a faiwy pwincess," a little girl sighed adorably.

They all began to push me towards the other end of the room. I was utterly confused. 

"Where's Celestia?" I asked concerned.  
"Luna? Himiko? Kaede? Byakuya? Kokichi? Lydia Scamander? Violet Baudelaire? Where are they?"

I didn't get a response. They all kept pushing me to the throne. I tried to fight against the horde, but there were TONS of them. How was I, a twenty year old woman, supposed to fight against hundreds of ageless cartoon children crowding around me? 

It seemed they realized I was resisting because a few of them went to the front and began pulling me. And somehow I waited until now to start panicking.

"Hey!" I grumbled fearfully.  
"Let me go!"

I felt myself getting pushed into a white throne and steel cuffs grasped around my wrists and ankles. 

"I'm afwaid we can't wet you get away," the little girl replied creepily and slowly.

_How the hell did this escalate so quickly?_

"You're needed here," Amelie assured me.  
"You're the epitome of innocence, or at least you will be once we're finished."

She clapped her hands and two other.......at this point, I think they'd be gremlins.....brought out a tray containing several syringes full of pure white liquid, as well as various disinfectant wipes and another syringe with a pink serum inside. I began to tremble just from looking at them. I hate needles, like a lot. So just to see them was enough to send me into a panic. 

"W-what the hell are those things?" I trembled.

All of a sudden, I heard a small crack and saw that one of the syringes was beginning to leak out. The gremlins screamed and one went to fetch a spare. This gave me an idea, but first I wanted to hear what they were for.

"That pink one is an anesthetic," Amelie explained.  
"Once that settles into your veins, and you become complacent, we'll inject the white ones which will purify your mind, heart, and soul, making you the most fitting bride. And once you and papa are married, you'll be able to lower the barrier and we'll become your first thousand children."

"Well, fuck!" I exclaimed.

As I thought, a syringe shattered, causing glass to rocket in nearly every direction. 

_So these can't take profanity, huh?_

"Someone get the duck tape!" Amelie exclaimed in horror.  
"Quickly! We can't afford to lose many more!"

"Shit!"

**_CRASH!_ **

"Damn it!"

_**SHATTER!** _

"DAMNED PITS OF FUCKING HELL!"

Three more shattered.

"No more! No more!" Amelie gasped in terror.  
"If you use the bad words in this realm, you'll die in the real world."

"Then let me go," I demanded. 

I heard a beeping and I saw a timer counting down. Thirty minutes. What was that for? As I was distracted, I felt something prick my skin. One of the little creeps had injected me with the anesthetic. I began to feel woozy. 

"Get......away......you fucking.......creeps!" I slurred.

I heard the last one crack, but one went to grab it and shoved it into me. And horrifyingly enough, in my dazed state, I saw the demons bring in at least a dozen more. I could feel a cooling sensation in my mind and heart. I couldn't grasp onto any of the swear words to defend myself

"Stop! I......don't......"

But it was too late. Silence befell me, and soon darkness did as well. 

* * *

Up above, Lilith kept track of the time as the Cursed God looked down lovingly. There was now only a minute to go. Rosanna, Safiya, and Leah prayed that she would come out of this unchanged, while the other two prayed the opposite. 

"I can't wait much longer," the Cursed God howled in agony.  
"I need her eternal sweetness."

Nora was tempted to yell out "hey, jackass. You've got the epitome of sweetness right here! Remember Rosanna?" but she bit down on her lip. 

"I think we should bring Alice and some of the others up here," Lilith suggested with a devilish smile.  
"To really solidify the nail in the coffin."

"Mystic's strong-willed," Safiya told them as the Cursed God snapped his fingers, causing Alice/Ciel, Penelope, and Envy to appear in the blink of an eye.   
"She'll never succumb to your innocence drugs."

"Really? Then perhaps you should have one next," Lilith suggested.

"Keep away from Safiya!" Rosanna exclaimed. 

"And then Alice," she chittered. 

"Um, how about no?" Alice replied with a shiver.

All of a sudden, they hear the sound of a harp as Mystic rose to the surface. Her skin was practically flawless. Lilith grabbed a special white towel as the Cursed God used his magic to rise her from the tub, still in her white gown, only it was more flowing this time, as her hair, now a pure gold donning a white bow in the back, shone in the dim light. Her eyes fluttered open, now a crystal blue, as in they literally sparkled like crystals, and were as wide as an anime character's eyes, giving her a super cute and innocent vibe.

"Mystic, thank God, you're okay!" Penelope sighed in relief as she ran towards her.

But Mystic just stared at her, tilting her head in confusion.

"I do apologize," she replied in an airy sweet Southern belle voice.  
"But who are you?"

The color drained from everyone's faces as they heard this. And it settled in that not even she was immune.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, if someone could find a way to reverse this, that'd be great.
> 
> (But why? Being innocent is so freeing.)
> 
> No one asked you.


	83. Queen of Eternity, Part 7: So I Am Confusion....

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Why is this one Kansas, but this one is NOT Ar-Kansas? AMERICA, EXPLAIN! EXPLAIN! WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT ARKANSAW? WHAT---?
> 
> Okay, but really. Who the heck are you people?

Mystic felt extremely rejuvenated after that bath, but she felt her heartache when the woman who had proclaimed her okay looked.......crestfallen. A warm, genuine smile spread across her face and she wrapped her arms around Penelope.

"It'll be alright," she assured her.  
"I'm sure we'll become great friends."

Nora, Rosanna, Alice, and Safiya all had to consciously restrain themselves from squealing at the adorableness.

“She’s no one you need concern yourself with, my love."

The Cursed God stepped over and placed a hand on her shoulder. 

“Not _yet_ , anyway…”

Mystic whirled around and looked up at the Cursed God in awe, before tilting her head.

"Wait, who are **you**?"

The Cursed God clearly didn't expect this. 

"It's me.....your husband-to-be."

She blinked a few times and frowned at him.

"I don't remember agreeing to marry anyone."

Laughing nervously, he went over to Lilith and whispered a few things to her. Meanwhile this new Mystic grabbed Penelope's hand and gestured to the others. 

"Come on," she squealed eagerly, but quietly.  
"Let's go explore."

Everyone else was confused, but shrugging, they decided to follow Mystic anyway.

* * *

"I don't understand," he growled quietly.  
"She should be completely devoted to me by now. Are you sure you followed it correctly?"

Lilith nodded.

"To a T."

"Perhaps she needs another one."

"I'm afraid one can only safely receive an angel bath once a week. Perhaps if you want to make sure that it was correct, we get someone else from the group to use as a guinea pig. But who among them has a weak mind?"

They thought for a moment, but then the answer seemed to occur. He gestured to Lilith to recreate the bath. Once she was finished, he snapped his fingers and one of the other writers appeared.

"What the....? What's going on?" Stella twittered.

Lilith and the Cursed God smiled devilishly.

"Oh," Lilith chuckled as she flashed her hypnotic red eyes.  
"Just a little......experiment."

* * *

Once they were away from him, Alice dared to ask.

"Mystic, do you really not know who we are?"

"Not a clue," she shook her head.  
"But something tells me that this guy is bad news. I dunno if I can trust him just yet. I wanna, but I dunno if I can. I mean, I come out of this tub and all of a sudden, he proclaims I'm his love? Seems a little 'spicious."

"Well, does that mean you're still with us?" Penelope asked hopefully.

She pondered this for a few moments.

"I don't sense any malice amongst y'all, at least currently, so I'll say yes."

"Well, if you're quite sure," Penelope sighed.  
"We'll have to ask for your help. A friend of ours is dying and we need to plant these ashes to create two flowers, turn them into a liquid, and give it to him. Are you in?"

"If it means saving someone's life, of course I'm in."

"Just gonna warn you," Envy cautioned.  
"He's a demon."

"And that's a problem....how?"

"My goodness," Penelope exclaimed.  
"She really IS innocent. But luckily, Angel Baths **can** be undone."

She pulled out a teastone.

"I wish we were all back at the hotel."

And with a golden glow, they were flooded with light and soon disappeared.


	84. Queen of Eternity, Part 8: WHAT'S THIS? WHAT'S THAT? WHAT'S THIS? WHAT'S THAT? WHAT'S THIS? WHAT'S THAT? WHAT'S THIS? WHAT'S THAT? WHAT'S THIS? WHAT'S THAT? WHAT'S THIS? WHAT'S THAT? WHAT'S THIS? WHAT'S THAT? WHAT'S THIS? WHAT'S THAT?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which I become the love child of GIR from "Invader Zim" and Pinkie Pie from MLP: FIM.

As soon as they reappeared in the hotel, Mystic's already-wide crystal-blue eyes grew even wider and literally brought life into the hotel.

"Is this heaven?" she gasped.

Before Penelope could answer, Mystic ran off, looking at every tiny little thing.

"What's this do?" she exclaimed, her accent almost non-existent now, as she ran over to the front desk.

Her eye caught sight of the bell on the front desk as she rushed over to it.

"What's that do?" 

She touched the top of it and gasped when it dinged before touching it another hundred times, giggling all the while, and then moving onto touching/using another thing, almost at light-speed. 

Fireplace: "What's that do?" 

Luggage cart: "What's this do?"

Telephone: "What's that do?"

Fountain outside: "Ooh! What's it do?"

Elevator button, as she pressed it a hundred times in thirty seconds: "Ooh! What's this? What's it do?"

Waterslide at the indoor waterpark of the hotel: "Hey! What's this? What's it do?"

Hot tub: "What is this? How does this work?"

Grill in the kitchen as she plays with all of the knobs: "Hey! What's this?" [turns a knob causing a flame to launch high in the air] "Ooh. Can I touch this?" [reaches out to touch it. ROSANNA immediately pulls her away as SAFIYA turns off the stove]

[MYSTIC runs around the entirety of the hotel lobby while PENELOPE is 100% done with everything.] 

"When is she gonna run down?" Safiya wondered.

"Who knows?" Penelope sighed with her hand on her forehead.  
"But we need to plant these ashes soon."

After some time, the poor little thing runs herself tired. 

"Finally," Penelope groaned in relief.  
"Let's go plant and quick-grow the flowers."

She felt a tugging on her dress and looked to see Mystic yawning cutely.

"I'm tired, though. Can I take a nap please?" she asked Penelope sweetly, batting her eyes, her accent returning.

Try as she might, even Penelope's heart melted.

"Fine," she sighed.  
"Ro, I'm leaving you to look after her."

"She can't look after herself?" Ro wondered genuinely.

"No," Penelope asserted.  
"If we leave her alone for too long, she might accidentally set the hotel on fire."

Ro took a sleepy Mystic's hand and led her to the elevator while Penelope, Alice/Ciel, Safiya, Nora, and Envy headed into the back of the hotel to plant the dark wishblossoms.


	85. Meanwhile, Part 3

It'd been roughly fifty-five minutes since they'd taken Bird hostage. Now she laid inside of the tub demurely awaiting her rise. But the Cursed God was impatient. Either Lilith was at fault or his bride was strong-willed, but either way, she was going to become exactly what he wanted.

"Something bothering you, my lord?" Lilith wondered.

"You can tell?" he groaned.

"You've been rubbing your temples for the past ten minutes. Of course I can tell."

He took a deep breath as he took his hands away from his head.

"I....I never thought someone would overtake my whole focus as much as she does. Not since.........her."

"Well, they do look rather similar," Lilith assured him.

"There has to be another way she can safely become more innocent and devoted," he moaned in agony.  
"I need her now more than ever."

Lilith gave this some rumination.

"There isn't really an option," she sighed.  
"The only other way I can think of is if we inject her with the serum again, but mix it with some of your DNA."

"Then what are we waiting for?" he nearly screamed as he grabbed her by the collar.

"Um, my lord, we're waiting on......that."

She pointed to the bathtub. Three minutes left. Huffing he set her down and covered his face with his hands.

"I've had too many failures with brides in the past," he grumbled regretfully.  
"But not this time. Not now. I know exactly what to do to keep her with me forever. Lilith, am I going insane?"

"No, my lord," she assured him.  
"You're already there."

"Thank you," he replied sarcastically.  
"I certainly needed that."

"I thought a little humor would distract you," she sighed.

"Oh, Lilith," he moaned.  
"Nothing can distract me from her sweet innocence. Do you KNOW how long it's been since anyone has been a companion to me out of love and not out of fear or on an impersonal level?"

"Then why use an angel bath?" she wondered.

"It's supposed to amplify the sweetness, love, loyalty, and innocence that she already has in her personality. Nearly every other bride I had deceived me. But not her. No, she is pure. She IS the one. I KNOW she is. She's a rose in a field full of dandelions."

"I believe she has said multiple times that she does not love you."

"That's EXACTLY WHY she is so pure," he roared before pausing for a moment and sighing.  
"Nearly every other woman I've fallen in love with has pretended that they loved me, put up a front, only to stab me in the back once it's too late. But Mystic's ingenuous. Honest. She hasn't a filter for the truth. If I can get her to fall in love with me, I'll KNOW it's true love. That angel bath was supposed to help."

"And Alice isn't?"

"Alice...." he grumbled.  
"She's hiding things.....I know it. That's one reason I refused to switch her with Mystic."

"What were the others?"

"I don't love her. Not like I love Mystic."

All of a sudden, they heard the sound of a harp and Bird emerged. The Cursed God didn't care to use much of his power to bring her out, so Lilith had to take over. Bird came out looking just as ethereal and innocent. 

"How do you feel?" Lilith asked as she wrapped Bird in a towel.

"I.....I..." she began in an airy voice before she saw the Cursed God.  
"I feel wonderful."

Slowly, she approached him before falling to her knees before him.

"At last, we'll be together forever, my love," she cried happily.

Hearing this, the Cursed God felt a boil of anger. Why weren't those words coming from Mystic's mouth? It wasn't fair. Why was someone he barely cared for so easily to bring out the innocence and devotion of but not the one he truly cared for?

"Get her out of here!" he raged.

Bird trembled.

"Oh, my love! What have I done to anger you? Please tell me, so I can right my wrongdoings!"

"Your very presence upsets me," he spat.  
"Get out!"

"But....but......" Bird choked.  
"But I love you."

"Well, I don't!"

With the snap of his fingers, he sent Bird back to her cell. Whirling around, he noticed that his love was gone.

"Where did she go?" he fumed.

"Since she's out of her magic-proof cell, I believe my double took the others back to the hotel," Lilith theorized.

"Then we must go there."

And with the snap of his fingers, off they went.


	86. Queen of Eternity, Part 9: Good and Bad News.

After what seemed like hours later, Penelope and the others took the elevator up into Mystic's suite, trying to ignore the stench of the decaying body parts of Arya and Celeste (yeah, apparently no one cleaned that up) out in the hall. They walked inside to find the two of them cuddling on the bed.

"Wakey-wakey, you two," she greeted them in a sing-song voice.  
"We have some good news."

Both of them, yawning adorably, sat up.

"How did it go?" Ro asked dazed.

Penelope kept her head down, but stepped aside as a figure limped inside. 

"Hey, Cinna-Ro," he smiled.

"Candy Pop!" Rosanna cried in relief as she ran to hug him.

"Is....is that the demon?" Mystic wondered.

This obviously took him by surprise.

"What's up with glasses girl?" he asked Alice.

"Something about an angel bath or whatever," she shrugged.  
"She doesn't remember us."

"What's this warmth in my chest?" he panicked.  
"I feel so tingly."

"That's affection, I think," Ro explained.  
"I think something in the bath did it. We've all been feeling the same way since she got out of it."

"Ugh, gross," he gagged.  
"I want more of it."

"Okay, so how do we get rid of the effects of this bath?" Safiya asked.

"Well," Penelope sighed.  
"I'd assume it'd be the same as how we got rid of that powder. I know it goes into the recipe for the angel bath."

All of a sudden, Mystic grasped her head and fell to the ground.

"What is it?" Ro gasped.

"I....I feel......a dark presence," she replied.

Envy hesitantly took a few steps back.

"No, it's not you Mr. Plantman. It's.....darker. And a bit red."

"Lilith," Penelope gasped. 

"You called?" a voice behind her whispered.

Whirling around, the others gathered around Mystic as the Cursed God and Lilith advanced upon her. Lilith pulled a long tube out and put it to her lips before giving a violent blow. 

"Ow!" Mystic squealed as she felt something stick into her neck. 

Carefully Ro pulled it out. It was a dart with a white fuzzy coating on it. All of a sudden, Mystic began to feel a bit fuzzy. Her face began to look more artless and innocent, almost like a porcelain doll. Stumbling around, she fell to the ground or would have if Ro hadn't caught her head. After a time, her eyes opened and she stood up.

"Oh my," she replied airily, her voice sounding like a fairy's. 

All of a sudden, she made eye contact with the Cursed God, and it was as Alice feared. She stood up and glided towards him before dropping to her knees, weeping.

"I'm so sorry," she cried.  
"I kept running away from you because I was afraid of the truth."

"Wha...what truth?" Alice choked.

"That......that.....I love you, so very much," Mystic begged desperately.  
"Oh, please do forgive me! I beg for your mercy!"

She bowed her head and continued to weep, but the Cursed God reached out and gently pushed her chin up as he pulled out a handkerchief, drying her eyes for her. 

"There, there, my sweet flower," he coaxed her more gently than he'd ever sounded as he reached out and stroked her face.  
"You haven't the need to ask for forgiveness. You're to be my bride, are you not? And that is more than forgiveness."

She nodded.

"I am to be your bride," she smiled dreamily.

"Mystic, don't!" Alice called out.  
"It's a trick."

"No, it's not," she giggled.  
"He's very sweet and kind and merciful. What a lucky young girl I am for him to love me in return."

"Indeed you are, my treasure," he sighed lovingly.  
"Now shall I show you to the bridal suite?"

"Oh yes please," she gasped.

Picking her up bridal-style, she immediately cuddled up in his arms. He gave a smirk to the befuddled group as they disappeared.


	87. Queen of Eternity, Part 10: Never in a Million Years

The Cursed God and Lilith, along with a smiling, sleeping Mystic, reappeared in the dungeon, causing a scare to everyone. 

"What do you want, jerkface?" Dooper snapped.

"I'd start being a bit nicer, Mr. Williams," Lilith advised him firmly.  
"He's going to be your boss soon."

"Like hell he is!"

"LANGUAGE!" she snapped.

"Wait. What?" Nikita asked, confused.  
"We're all of age to swear, though."

"Not in front of this sweet little flower," the Cursed God exclaimed holding out Mystic.

"What are you talking about?" Manny gasped.

"Do you want the long or short version?" Lilith sniffed.  
"Doesn't matter. The point is that you've lost."

Matpat's heart sank.

"Mystic's heart belongs to the Cursed God's, now and forever. Once the ceremony is complete, she'll lower the barrier between fiction and reality and chaos will reign for all of time and beyond! But look on the bright side. You'll get to work for the sweetest and most innocent of all for all of eternity."

"You do realize we're all going to eventually die out, right?" Joey pointed out.

Lilith gave a chuckle.

"Not if we have anything to say about it."

"My Lord," Bird practically shrieked.  
"Please, I beg of you, marry me! I love you."

"Did you not remove the effects of the bath?" the Cursed God sighed at Lilith.

"My apologies. Shall I?"

"Eh. Wait a while. I want to watch her suffer more first."

"Gladly," she agreed before turning back to the group.  
"Now if you all would be so kind as to clean up your attitudes. I'm sure that some of the others who already work under my Lord may want you for themselves, which is fine, so long as you also serve under my Lord and Lady's rule. Anyone who refuses will be placed in suspended sentience until you agree to join us."

"Um, excuse me," Lauren piped up fearfully.  
"What exactly IS suspended sentience?"

Lilith gave this some thought.

"I guess you could think of it as having your soul be trapped inside of a shell or in a doll. You're aware of what's going on around you, but that's all you're capable of."

A shiver ran down everyone's spines.

"Now if you'll excuse us, my Lord and I have to attend to the bride-to-be."

"PLEASE," Bird practically roared in torment.  
"LOVE ME."

The Cursed God went over and stared into Bird's eyes for a few moments before finally whispering.

"Not in a million years will I love you."

And away they went.

"This is fucked up!" Nikita snapped.  
"Mystic's under the spell of that crazy-ass God, we don't know what's up with Bird Bitch over there----"

Bird gave a cry of agony.

"---and we don't know where Alice, Safiya, Penelope, Envy, Leah, Rosanna, or Candy Pop are!"

"Last I heard, he was on the verge of death," Justine sighed as Stella shrieked out again.  
"I just pray to God it's only a rumor."

* * *

Meanwhile back at the hotel, the group was still left dumbfounded. Five minutes ago, Mystic had been relatively fine. And now she was with the man that was gonna cause the downfall of reality itself. They were all sort of locked in a silence for a good ten minutes as despair seeped into their veins. 

"We.....we've lost," Alice barely croaked.  
"We've lost Mystic. The world. Reality. Our lives as we know them now."

"Have faith, Alice," Penelope assured her.  
"There's hope yet."

"WHERE?" she bursted in a fervor of anger and frustration.  
"WHERE IS THIS HOPE YOU CLAIM IS COMING? BECAUSE I DON'T SEE ANY."

"I don't know," she spat back.  
"But it's better than if we just mope around."

"And delude ourselves from the truth," Alice spat back venomously.  
"That's all hope is."

"Hope is no delusion and you know it," Penelope snapped.  
"Anyway we have to go back."

"What's the point? We're just gonna lose her again."

"Not this time we're not."

"I'm kinda on Alice's side here," Candy Pop hesitated.  
"That dart seemed to be pretty damn powerful."

"Yes, but it doesn't mean it's permanent," Penelope winked as she pulled out a stone.  
"I wish we were all back at the lair of the Cursed God."

A golden glow surrounded them and they found themselves in the dungeon where the others were hiding.

"You guys?" Joey gasped.  
"You're okay!"

All of a sudden, they heard a loud cry. They looked over and saw Stella, shrieking in agony. 


	88. Queen of Eternity, Part 11: On the Map

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I should really be doing my Theatre History 2 homework.

It was breaking her heart to see Bird in such agony, but Alice tried to remain strong.

"It had to have been the work of an angel bath," Penelope sighed solemnly.  
"No other concoction would drive someone so mad with devotion."

"Then how is Mystic staying sane?" Leah wondered.

"It's because that devotion is being reciprocated. If he were to stop showing her affection, she'd go the same way."

"Think that'd ever happen?" Rosanna asked worriedly.

Penelope sighed.

"I can't say for sure. At this point, he's sending mixed signals, at least to us. To Mystic he's probably the only thing that matters now."

That thought was another that sent shivers up everyone's spines. 

"If only she was this devoted to us," Aqua grumbled.  
"Then maybe she wouldn't have ran away from us so many times."

"But that's not who she is," Tristen remarked.

"How do you know what she's like?"

"I can see it in her. She can't stay in one place for too long without---"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's great and shit," Envy piped up.  
"But if we don't snap Mystic out of this spell, none of us will be leaving THIS place."

"Well, what do you expect US to do?" Erica snapped.  
"We're the ones trapped in cages. Unless you've got the keys, you're on your own."

He turned to Penelope.

"Can't you wish them out of their cages?"

She sputtered at him for a good five seconds before replying.

"What part of 'magic-proof dungeon' did you not understand? These stones fall under that category of magic!"

"I was just making a suggestion."

"I know," she sighed.  
"But we're on a time constraint."

"Then let's just go to her ourselves," Candy Pop shrugged.

Everyone turned to him in confusion.

"You sure that'll work?" Safiya questioned.

"Hey, it's worth a shot. Now c'mon. Who the hell knows when this wedding's gonna be?"

Turning on his heels, he began to run off. 

"Hang on, C.P.," Penelope halted firmly.  
"We don't want to wander aimlessly for the next two hours. We need to come to a consensus and make an informed decision about where to go----"

"Or we could just look at this map engraved in the wall," Rosanna pointed out.

Whirling around, Penelope spotted a large map engraved in gold mounted on the wall of the dungeon. 

"Well, that's convenient," she remarked.

"Bit lazy, though," Erica shrugged.  
"I feel like the writer's not even trying now."

The group scanned over the map until they found a room labeled "Bridal Suite."

"Okay, so it should take us about fifteen minutes to get there," Safiya calculated.  
"If we go to the right and then......"

"How big of a lair is this?" Alice sputtered.

"This is just one of his lairs," Calliope pointed out.

"Geez, is this guy loaded?" Dooper spattered.  
"How can he afford multiple lairs?"

"Okay, I think I know where we need to go," Safiya exclaimed as she took off.  
"Follow me."


	89. Queen of Eternity, Part 12: Cute Overload

Meanwhile, Mystic kept her eyes close, trying to concentrate as she held her hand out in front of a flower pot. Her hand was trembling as if she was straining against some force until she let out a gasp of frustration. 

"I can't do this!" she fumed as she put her head to her hands.  
"I've been trying for nearly an hour now, and I still can't make a flower grow."

The Cursed God placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I know you can do it, my love," he encouraged her gently.  
"It's just a matter of concentration."

"But you promised to let me play with puppies and kittens and bunnies when we arrived."

"And I will," he promised her as he gave her a kiss on the head.  
"But first you need to tap into your magic. Think of a happy memory."

Mystic tried to wrack her brain for something that would help, but she drew a blank.

"I can't think of anything," she sighed.  
"I feel like my life only began just over an hour ago. How can I have a happy memory?"

This was what he was afraid of. But now that that was the case, the Cursed God had no choice; he had to give her a memory of hers back. Placing both of his hands on her shoulders, he drew out a memory of her being cast as her dream role for a class.

"Now close your eyes and concentrate on the memory," he directed her softly.  
"Let it make the flower grow."

Huffing Mystic held out her hand to try again. The memory flooded her mind and she felt a sense of ecstasy flow through her. After a few moments....

"Mystic, my darling, open your eyes."

When she did, she couldn't believe them. Inside the once-empty pot was a blooming blue rose. She stared down at her hand in disbelief.

"I.....I made that happen," she stammered in awe.  
"I did that with......magic?"

"You did."

She whirled around, a twinkle in her eye. 

"I believe you promised ME something once I did that," she replied expectantly, blinking her doe-like eyes.

Chuckling he snapped his fingers and swarms of puppies, bunnies, and kittens appeared. Her heart swelled with joy and she bent down to snuggle with them.

"Now you enjoy, my sweet, precious lollipop," he told her, patting her head.  
"Lilith and I have some details to arrange for the wedding."

Snapping his fingers, he disappeared. She giggled as the animals snuggled up against her and licked her face. 

* * *

Meanwhile, Safiya and the others had seen a good majority of this happening. 

"I think I'm gonna be sick," Candy Pop groaned in disgust as he looked through the keyhole.  
"The Cursed God's turning into the Sappy God!"

"Yes indeed," Penelope agreed.  
"Either he really does love her or he's a very dedicated actor."

"What kind of creature like him would love ANYONE?" Envy wondered in disbelief. 

"I mean, he really could," Rosanna shrugged.  
"You never know."

All of a sudden, one of the puppies began to paw at the door. Mystic got up and opened it. She spotted the others and gasped.

"Hey!" she smiled.  
"You're here!"

She took ahold of Rosanna's wrist and pulled her inside. The rest of them followed suit to be swarmed by puppies, kittens, and bunnies. 

"Hey! Get these creatures off of me!" Envy grumbled as a few of the puppies playfully pulled at the vines by his feet.

Safiya went for the kittens while Ro found a French bulldog that looked a lot like Cookie. Meanwhile, Candy Pop was unfazed, and now Penelope was trying to restrain herself.

"Seriously?" he scoffed at her.  
"You can handle being interrogated by a Russian demon lord, but small animals are your kryptonite?"

"Russian demon lords don't demonstrate neoteny," she sniffed.

"That's probably gonna go on a t-shirt."

"Okay, there's definitely a story in there somewhere," Alice remarked.  
"And how did you know?"

"I was the reason she was being interrogated," he shrugged. 

"When did that even happen?"

Penelope pursed her lips in thought.

"I would say....perhaps a year or two after joining the Society."

"Um, have we already forgotten why we're here?" Envy pointed out.

Hearing this, they stopped what they were doing and turned to Mystic who was back on the ground being kiss-attacked by some Golden Retriever puppies. She sat up and stared at them with wide, innocent eyes, magnified slightly by her glasses.

"Mystic," Safiya began, trying to hold back squealing at the cuteness.  
"We're here to help you."

"With what?" she asked in a sweet breathy voice as she tilted her head.

"We're here to help you escape."

"Why would I want to escape? This place is magical!"

"Because of that Cursed God," Candy Pop pointed out. 

She tilted her head again.

"The who?"

"Your husband-to-be," Penelope clarified.

Hearing this, Mystic gave a lyrical giggle that made everyone have to mentally restrain themselves from reacting to. 

"That's a funny joke!"

"I'm afraid it's no joke, my darling. Your husband-to-be is a corrupted God and he's using you to cause chaos."

"Okay, THAT part's not funny. I don't think we're even talking about the same person."

"I believe we are."

Mystic folded her arms and pouted.

"You're not even giving him a chance. He's so sweet and kind and loving. I trust him with my life."

The last phrase sent a full-blown blizzard up Alice's spine. 

_That's Bad-News Bears._

"Once you're married to him, you're not going to have much of a life. He's going to make you immortal, spread chaos, and take over all of time. Unless you come with us."

"I think you're worrying too much," she giggled soothingly.  
"I'll show you he's sweet."

Clearing her throat, she called out in a sing-song voice.

"My love! I have some people who I want you to meet."

Before any of them could run off, there he was, hovering above her.

The Cursed God.


	90. Queen of Eternity, Part 13: A Victorian Christmas

Alice was so tempted to just book it at that moment. She wanted NOTHING MORE to do with this dude, but she would NOT abandon Penelope and the others. 

"You called, my little lolly?" he asked in a smultzy voice as he pinched her cheek, causing Candy Pop to gag.

"These people don't believe me about how sweet you are," she pouted.

"Is that so? Perhaps I should call Lilith in and she can....testify to them."

 _No thanks,_ Alice thought.

"Um, no thanks, we're good," Safiya replied quickly.

"Oh yes please!" Mystic replied happily, jumping up and down, clapping her hands.   
"Lilith's a very good speaker. She's very persuasive and very kind."

"Um, I really think we're good," Rosanna added.

"Oh? But then you won't see my little dove's perspective on the matter," he replied sadly. 

"Believe me, we're completely fine with being ignorant of it," Penelope coughed. 

"Well then at least stay," Mystic begged, her accent suddenly becoming....British?  
"And I can show you."

All of a sudden, they heard a slam and a click. Whirling around, they found that the door locked behind them. Penelope rushed over and tried to unlock it, but it was no use. 

"Mystic," she scolded, groaning as she attempted to open the door.  
"Open the door, this isn't funny."

"I didn't lock the door," she replied innocently her hair now curling into tight curls.  
"My love locked it."

"Why did he do that?" Ro asked until she heard her own voice; she now had the same dialect and her clothes were changing. 

"Mystic," Safiya asked with the same dialect and a lot of articulation as her clothes changed into a black velvet dress with a bonnet.  
"What in the name of sanity is going on?"

All of a sudden, snow began to fall from the ceiling in the room as it grew further away from them.

"Is the room growing?" Alice asked worriedly, her dialect now changed.  
"Or are we shrinking?"

From out of nowhere, a giant castle appeared in front of them. 

"Mystic," Envy replied, having the most shocking change of them all; he'd turned human and was quite handsome at that, while also having a British dialect.  
"Please do tell us what's going on."

"It's a Victorian Christmas, of course!" she replied in awe.

"But it's not December," Candy Pop whispered, uncomfortable with his new dialect as nature and candy began to pop up, the room being replaced by a little town.

Mystic gave another lyrical giggle.

"It doesn't have to be December for it to be Christmas, silly!"

She grabbed Rosanna by the wrist and pulled her as the town sprung to life.

"Now come along! We must get back to the castle before midnight, or else Father Christmas won't deliver presents!"

"What time is it now?" Penelope gasped, somehow even more British-sounding.

"Nought by 4 hours to, I believe," Mystic pondered.

"Then that should be plenty of time to look around, don't you agree?"

"Oh goodie golly gumdrops!" Mystic gasped, that sentiment causing Candy Pop to gag.  
"May we? Oh please say we may!"

"If you wish."

Mystic jumped up and down clapping and squealing with delight as Victorian winter clothes appeared on everyone, and for good reason. It was so cold now. 

"Then let's go!"

As Mystic skipped and ran off like a small child, Safiya leaned into Penelope.

"Why are you playing along?"

Penelope shrugged.

"We might as well, because I do not foresee us leaving anytime soon anyways. And she does seem quite happy, the happiest I've seen her in ages. Now let us proceed. I'm quite certain there is a lot she wishes for us to see."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm thinking maybe I should split this up into series.
> 
> Screw it. I'm gonna split the rest of this into a series.


End file.
